THE

GOSPEL MVOL. ]1.- o. V.

Of a FIFTH SERIE , f r MAY, 183;'•

•• In doctrine s/lewin tl71Corrttptness."

" Beware yeq! tile lertvello! tlte PMtrisees wliiclt i.' flypocrlsll."

"Jesus ChTist, tile lame lIesterday to-day alld fOT ever. Whom to ho", is lifeeter7lal.'·

THE VISION SEEN BY THE PROPHET ISAIAH•

.. I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his trainfilled the temple."

ISAIAH narrates a memorable vision with which he was favored,representincr to him the gloriou kingdom of the Son of God, withsome remarkable circumstance attending its extension, which arehighly worthy of the most elaborate inv stigation. The short essayfi:omprehended in this piece, consists of three parts.

First, A sublime description of the symbolical appearance of theglorious majesty of God, wita some particular circumstances whichaccompanied this manifestation.

Secondly, T.he stllemn designation of Isaiah to the performanceof a very important part of his prophetical office, to which God hadappointed him; namely, the publishing a general declaration re-specting futurity. -

And, lastly, The particular order which the prophet received fromGod, to deliver a very ~rievous message, which he was instructedto communicat· to th J wish nation, which were to ba made anawful instanc f divin s v rity.

The time wher ill Isaiah was hOllour 'u with the vision of whichhe here speaks, was the y a1' in which king Uzziah died. Thisprince was elevated to the throne of Judah when he was about six­teen yean Qf age, and reigned in Jerusalem during the long periodof fifty and two years. In the beginning of his reign, he did thatwhi h was right in the si~ht of the Lord: and as long as he soughtthe Lord, God made him to prosper. Being wonderfully helpeduntil he wo. strong, his fame spr ad far abroad; and in war, hisarms w'r' rown cl with 'ucce . In his prosperity, however, hisheart was liftl'd 11 P to hi~ dt" truel iOIl: he transgressed agaillst theLord his God. Ik \I lllllltlllhe temple of the Lord, and burnt in-

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186 TIlE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

cense upon th altar of incense, notwithstand'ng the powerful OPP04sition of fourscore pnests, who remonstrated against this usurpationof th 'ir ofIi 'C, and informed the king of his sin, and his danger.In '011 l'«U nce of this rash atfempt, God slllote him with leprosy,and 11' 'ontinued a leper unto the day of his death. About thatp 'riod, our prophet informs us, he saw the vi,ion which he pro­c ,d, to narrate. The circumstance of time which is ~eldom men­tion 'd by Isaiah, but more frequently not iccd uy the other pro.phets, is here clearly determined. Thoug-h we pretend not toa' ign the true reasons why this representation was given at thetime here marked, doubtless, were we acquainted with thelll, thewisdom and goodness of the Divine procedure in this matter won Idappear highfy conspicuous. We shalt not, however, venture evena conjecture upon this topic, nor trouble you with those whichwhich have u "n fOrlnc,1 hy others.

Of all the Illllnan sens('s, that of ,'eing is III most acti"e andp 'netrating, and 'arri', along- with it th' ll10st pow'rful convic­tion f th I' 'ality and certaint), of the ohj 'cts that ar' seell. Hencethe apostl Jolll1, asserting his full assurance of the truth of thosethings conccrning which lie writes, IIS~S this strong expression," That which wc have seen with our eyes, which we have looked11POll; that which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you,"1 John i. 3. In what manner Isaiah saw the Most High God, theKmg eternal, immortal, and invisible, he does not inform us. Godbeing a spirit, he cannot he seen "'tih bodily eyes; being infiniteand incomprehensible, he cannot properly be s en with the eyes ofthe mind; and ther fore the apostle Paul affirms, that 'no manhath, or can s e him.' The words before us, certainly import morethan that he saw the Lord by meditation and contemplation, whichis the common privilege of all the servants of God; and, in t.hissense, our prophet no doubt set the Lord always before him. Wesuppose, then, that he had a symbo!ical representation afforded himof the glory of Jehovah, in which the objects he proceeds to de­scribe, were as clearly exhibited to his view a~ if he had beheldthem with his bodily eyes. In this manner, the prophets Ezekieland Daniel, and the apostle John, had the visions of God whichthey relate. 'Ve are indeed altogether uncertain how the Lordmade himself known to the prophet upon this occasion, in this vi­sion; wh th I' the appearance he mentions, was open to public,i 'w; wh tlwr he wa' in a deep sle p, like Daniel; or in a trance,Jik ,th a(>o't/' P t 'I'; or if, like the apo tIe Paul, he was soravil>hed with the sight, that he kncw not whcther he was in or outof th' hody Bbs' '<\ be God that I'Ve all with open face, do beholdas in a gla~s I h g-Iory of the Loru. The revelation which Godhatl. given us or 1111l1S -If' in Jesus Christ, far excels all thc vi~ion5

with which till' prophets were favoured since the beginning of theworld. Th light which they beheld, was o'oscurity, V1hen com­pared to that which 1'1'(' en.ioy: tllcir visions were only shadows, and

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. ]81faint repre entations, of the glory we contemplate in the gospel.God is manifest in the flesh, alltl th' true lig'ht 1I0W shineth; let ustherefor walk as children of the light, anti of the day. -

The person who was seen by th ' prophet, is the Lord Jehovah,.glorious in holinesi, perfect ill b('auty, rieh in mercy, infinite inmajesty, excellent in working, I' 'arflll ill praises, aHd incompre­hensible in all his diville attribut 'S: th· Gotl of Israel, the God ofthe spirits of all Al:sh, to whom b'l ng. the earth, and the ful­JleSS thereof; the world, :lnd th 'y that dll'ell th rein; who in theSth ver,'e of this chapter, is ';111('<.1 Ih· Killg, the L I'd of hosts. Bycomparin!S the word, h 'fore 11' with tho...(· of the apostle John, re­corded chap. ii. 10, ,11, or hi' osp -J, you will plainly see, thatthis p 'r on whom Isaiah call, .Jchovah, the apostle affirms to havebcen .Jesus Christ; for after having citetl the 9th vers~ of thisdwpter, he adJs, 'These things said Esaias, when he saw hisglory, and spake to him,' The words his and him plainly refer toour blessed Saviour, in wholll the Jews did not believe, notwith­standing he had done many Iniracles among them. This remarkof an i r\spired writer would have greatly embarrassed us, had not.Jesus Christ himself resoJ\'eJ the Jifficulty, by his assurance, 'Hethat hath sc 11 111 , hath se 'n the Father:' the reason he elsewhere'llggests is this, ' I UIlI llw Fath 'I', and tlte Fath r ill me:' Johnxiv. !,), 10. alld agaill, I and tll Fath'r aI" olle.' .John x. 30.Hence wc conclude, that the glory of .lehovall, wllicll I aiah be­held, was the glory of the eternal HOIl of GoJ, .Jeslls Christ, who isone with him, by slle!J a perfect unity as wc pretend not to illus­trate. This glorious per50n, we suppose, was he into whose pre­sellce the elders -of Israel were aJmittcd, when they saw God, and(lid cat and drink. Exod, xxiv. 10. This wa5 the angel of theLord, who appeared to Moses in the bush which burned, and waslIot consumed; Exod, iii. z. who spake to him at Mount Sinai;who was ill the church ill the wilderness, whose glory was visible[ram betll'een the cherubims. Acts I'ii. 38. This was the Lordwhom bral'l SOIl"ltt ; thl' I\lt sSI'ng-er of till' covcnallt, in whom tile)'dl'liglllt-cl, 11 110 ... ucldl·ul) ('allll' to III Il'llIpl(',-TIIl', a 'reJ Ilamc ofJ( hmalt hI Ill" Ill'n' al'l' !l'cI tl' .ll' Il ('hn,t, allth(lriLcs us to maketlll~ obviolls Jllrl'l'('IlI", tit. I Cod I... our Sal'IOllr, and that 0111'

f'aviour is God; nlld d'l'l"( forl' abl(' to san' to tlte IIttermost.IJe 'i£'aS seen sitting "pOll a thl'one, h(~ hand It/ied up. A throne

is the ensign of royalty, alld the s('at or majesty, from whenceprin't'. display their grandeur, ITCI'il'l: the addresses and petitionsor \11l'ir suhj('(;\s, and ell<lct lalVs for their benefit and governmellt.Thl~ t111'l11l1' Ill'rl' III 'llIiOllcd, is all l'lull]em at' hi' divine majestywho 11 a, :.I'oItl'cI ul'0u it, who is the Prillce of the king-sot' the earth,by whol11 klllos 1'1'1 fU, alld prilll I' dccn;e justice. It intimates Itisroyal dig;lIlt) IIItO I'> 1'1'011 11 I'd 111111 glory anJ honour, who hath asceptre of rightlllll Ill' ,a 11I1"dolll that all people, nations, andlanguages, s1lall SI.'I I I', a IIII Ivll Ihousaud times ten thousalld uf

188 THB GOSPEL MAGAZINL

glorious attendants. It represents his ineffable glory, who is theKing and the Lord of glory, the glory of heaven and earth, theglory of th church, whose works, whose law, liberty, and gospel,are all truly glorious. It likewise denotes his judicial authority,who~ throne is set for judgment; and who, at the very time inwhich the prophet had this vision, sat in judgment upon the in­habitants of J udea, and pronounced that sentence which compre­hended in it the most terrible calamities.-The Lord was seensitting upon the throne. The expression is plainly metaphorical,and hath an obvious reference to e:uthly monarchs, who are seatedupon their thrones. Thi~ posture represents -the Most High in astate of grandeur and magnificence, highly exalted above all; ofperfect ease and tranquillity, in the management of all the con­cerns of his universal empire; of complete security, amidst all themachination of" his n mics; and denotes the perpetuity of hisdominion, which shall n'v r hav an 'nd. He sit upon a throneof his glory, upholding all thil1g~ by Ih word of his power, send­ing forth his ministers to execute hi . pleasure, subduing the peopleunder him, giving gifts to his church, restraining the fury of hisenemies, and disappointing their h05tlle designs.-1;'he throneupon which Jehovah appeared, was high and lifted up; signifying,that he who sat thereon, was elevated far above all might anddominion, and every name that is named in this world, or thatwhich is to come. His kingdom ruleth over all. Inanimate crea­tion is obedient to his command: to devils, and wicked men, hesets restraining bounds: angels who excel in strength, do hisc0mmandments: his faithful subjects among men, a multitudewhich no man can number, he governs, enriches, and preserves, inthe enjoyment of the most glorious prerogatives.-With humilityand reverence we bow before thy eternal throne, and give theellOmage, rejoicing that thou art the Lord God omnipotent reignest;and in our safety and felicity, under thy administration, who waitsto Le gracious, who will supply us with strength, to guide us withcounsel, to protect us by thy omnipotent arm, and to grant Ult in­heritance among thy saints in light.

('1'0 be Continued.)----000--­

APIfORl~MS BY WILLIAM ROMAINR,

Never before Published.No. XXVlII.

Tile m r' faith, the more grace; and thc stronger in believing, thestrong r 'hristian) ou will be.

RClT ncration which is a work of the Holy Spirit, is a new crea-tion, as much as if a brute was made an angel.

Our li~ h r i a warfare, and the great enemy ~s self.The highest man in the spiritual life is the lowest.My hand cut off fr m my body, what can it do ?-And a sinner

out of Chri5t, what call he do?

I Ill'" tlll)(' III'anl hill pr a'h d to bl~ believed.

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. 189'1 h I h 'v 'r i madc scn iblc that he is a wretched, ruined sin­I. lid Cl II\' li vcs upon grac 'vcry moment.I 11 1111 I' W in grace? then you will think less and less of

It.h I h, t thou that thou did,t not rc cive?" And if you are

1\ I", \ hat have you to bat f, hut the boullty of your11 I 1 •

'h t llIak hrist more pr iOll to the bcliever to day than heI' t ·rday ? Why he s hc wall him more.

PI'o»I' are continually complailling t III of som ,thing in them­I " ; Why, every thin" you find in yours 'If, should send you to1Ir1 \.

11( 11 ou are not dis onraged but cncouraged to come to11ft I, that's the end of corruptions.

'/"'11 rOll make Christ your one hope, then you'll be happy.\ h 'Il Lhe piritual life is begun, it is a life like its author, it

11 \ (,. l'llds,EH r thillg to mal. you like Christ is to be had from him."Ill' llllt\ ani world is a copy of the inward world, and what is

• III 11.111111' I 1111 dill lralioll of what is done in grace.•• 1Ic1 11 I h.l fllllll dam is subje t to death; J want a

'" t I 'Ill h 1I I 11\ 'hri~1.III 11 1I111l' tlllll hll' . 1I1~"; he tllrn temporal

.11 11 1'11111 I hit, Ill' • nlld t 'l\1!,ural nli' 'ries into spirit­Ill' loo,

( loll I i Ihl' I.llrd of lif' ill th' h ur of d ath.1II,'lltllrrl Ill-ath its ,11' into Ji~', and turn that hell which you and

III 11 ill tl tll'" 'rv 'd, into glory inconceivable,\ 1111 ( 1I1111lt IliaI- • too much use of Christ.I • I ,11 h'lll!lmaL, with a pi ritual eye.

It I till' :1I1l1., ha l' ('IIjoy d I he mansions of bliss for millions ofI , • tl III hi' hilt I rH' drop out f the immense ocean of the love

• I.

(1(1'

ERSE 8., 'It H' I 11 J. \I

I IlId fllul 'IIr' (' Ilcuuines, alld virgins\ 111111111 lIumb ·r."

'11 \, I 'till' J onl .J 'SlIS Christ has been considering,'" ' "I 1111' Iwaltlll' , (','('dil'neies, graces, and perfections,Itl'" ,11 1Il'IIl'Id "I hi~ brid " as considered in herielf, and

tI" \ mkltHlIlsllip or his Holy Spirit. He now isIlfi)('iGc(1 \\\ I1 I", ,il'lI's of her, and gives his account

111111111'1111. Il\'r beauty as she stands compared,I 11111111'1 ~ whatsoever. She had said of him( 1'1 III 1111' l hiefest among ten thousand, and

\ Ittllll' pI 'fcr her beyond threescore queens and

190 TITE GOSPEL MAGA~INE.

fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. It is his pleasureto set forth how vastly preferable his bride is to all others; "Let thenumber lInu excellences of others be what they may, they cannotb' ompared with my bride," says our Lord, " they are all as nothingworth, there is no beauty if) them, when set in comparison with myqucen: she is the fairest of all the fair. She has my eye, my heart,- he engrusses the whole of my affeetions,-my thoughts are con­tinually going forth towards her. The whole world with all its glo­ries, no, nor heaven itself, with all contained therein, cannot take offmy eye and heart from being engaged for and perpetually fixed onher; mine eye and mine heart are upon her perpetually."

Beloved, I need not say the words in the text are figurati ve, there­fore I will not take up any of your time about what 1 call literal ex­planation, by showing the diHerenee between queens and concubinesand vir rins. By that of qu 'ns might be meant the principal wivesof king ; by concubinc', s 'e ndary or half wive are to be under­stood; ancl hy virgilJ~, such a~ attended on th 'se; but,l will endea­vour so far to take notice of the allusioll as may ue necessaryto open the words, and apply them, as I eunceive we are to under­stand them. I therefore propose opening my text in the followingmanner;-

First, By observing, from whence it may be conceived these figuresand allusions are drawn.

Second, How they may be accommodated by us so as to receivebenefit from them.

Then, Third, I will make ueh an application uf them.] am, according to this, as my fir't particular, to observe from

whence the e figures and allusions arc drawn. There is a great re­semu)anee between the forty-rifth Psalm and this Song ;-the oneseem to be the foundation of the other. That seems to be the planof this. In it, the queen of heaven, the spouse of Him whose nameis King of kings, and Lord of lords, is there represented as standingin gold nf Ophir, which answers to Chri-t's church and bride here,king's daughters which answer;; to the queens here, are said to beamong her honourable women, who were attendants on her. Andthe virgins her companions are said to follow her, when she was in­troduc.:d into the king's presence. I wit! recite the words that youIllay sce for yourselves the probahility of the remark, " King's daugh­ters \\'cre alllong thine honourable wom n, upon thy right hand did,tan I the 1111\'/'11 in gold ofOphir. Th' king'~ daughter is all.gloriouswithin, hcr clolhin r i-; of wrou rht ~l)ld. 'he shall be brought untotht' king' ill milllcnt of ne dIe IIDI", tit' virgins her companions thatt'ullo v h 'I' ~ 11'111 h' hrouoht unto thee," ver~s!), 13, 14. It is alsovery nalllral l co lcdve the allusion i', to et nuptial solemnity, andthe cer('mony lit i I : I 11 inn- the bride into the bridegroom's house,with a large Illl nh 'I' of per~ons of distinction. It may also be in re­ference tu the Cl, tom and practice of kings and great persun , amongthe Jewish prillVl " as l>avid and Solomon, who had a number of

'rHE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. 191wives, and concubines, and virgins to attend upon them. Somcconceive the several kingdoms and nations of thc world are designedby these, which put altogether arc but as mountains of prey, com­pared with that kingdom in which the Church of Christ is planted.Solomon had three hundred wi cs, princ sses, and three hundredconcubines, the number in the t('xl lIlay be considered as an as­sertion, that there are so many, or as a sUfJposition; thoughthere be so many, yet Christ' bride xcccds and excels them all.Or the number may be considcr '<I a~ 11 certain one for an uncer­tain one. The Queen of llf'avcn, th daughter of the most highGod, whose name is the Lord of IJost , h' a'l thc bride of theGod-man-Christ J sus, exc c<ls them in mUlIe, in antiquity, indignity, and majesty, in glory alld renown, in fame and honor.She is a lawful wife, she is one with Him who is the heir of allth ings. Here the Lord Christ sets his bride forth in her excel­lency, as she might stand related to, or be compared with others.She as much exceeds all beside in his eye, as He exceeds allbeside in Hers.

There are three-score queens, and four-score concubines, andvir~ins willJOut number, as attendants on my bride. But theyI <Id nothing t her b ':Hlly. Hhc outshines them all. Her glory\lallow lhl'lII lip, l\~ to ('list them f r v I' into shadcs. She is

lik· llll .UIl in It. In('ridJaIl . hin(~ 1I11d Hpkndour, whcn it out­shin s nil Ih' slarH. Such l>ll)'H 'hrist i lily spouse, as set incompflre with others, and tak lily own view of her.

As J have said suHicient 10 sbew from whence il may be con­(' iv d the figures and allusions are drawn, which are thus eK­pr s d. So 1 will proceed ;-

SI'I'Olld, To shew bow these may be accommodated. by us, so1 lhnl we may receive benefit by them. I conceive by queens,

1011 'ubines, and virgins, we Illay understand the various Cburchesof Chri 't in tbeir outward form, worship, and purity of doctrine.SOIl1P ar , and may be wcll compared unto, and styled queens,olh"1 c',dlc'cI c'Ol1gl'('g'llioIlS, and who make a profes~ion of the11111111' of ('hli 1,11111)' 11(' ,1yll'c1 cOl1cllbil1'. A others ul1cler aplll!1 'lUll 111('1111 11101 I'cl/l1lld il1to (;0 pc! Id'l', way be styled"IIHill~. 'I'h 1I(11111)('I of lll('s' quc(,I1~, Illay be said lo be three-('01", th' l1umb 'rill' '(111 'ld'lll' III:\Y be aid to be foul'-score,­

\! hdsl th numb'r of \'il'gins cannot easily be reckoned. Yet,'hi i," hUl'ch is preferred beyond them all. I mention it here,

I • III 'Ih Church ofChrisl, being the Church of Christ, and asI ,11 till, peak of these queens as Churches of Christ, it may

III '0111' thoughts what llIust come forth next. Which is,I" I, III ulldefiled is bllt one, the only one of her mother,

h 'I 1111 I 11I11C'(, one of her that bare bel'. Tbe daughters sawh 'I, nlld hi, I·d Ill'!'. By qlle< ns, concubines, and virgins. I11 lid 'I' 'n"c1, n"d hall accommodate these terms to these followingparli 'ul;u ,

192 THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

First, nJ que ns, [shall accommodate the term to the Churchesof Chr,st, allt! give my reasons for the same.

'econd, By concubineil, I shall attribute this term to, and un­derstand such congregations as are of a legal sort, and have notthe tru Gospel ordinanpes of Christ, yet are they more innumber.

Third, By virgins, I shall consider such as make some externalprofession, and confession of Christ, yet are they under no order:.Whose number exceeds the queens and concubines, and there­fore they are said to be without number.

And by way of one general to these particulars, I would ob­serve, what is very obvious to all, that this land in which wedwell, may be styled the valley of vision. We have the Lord'strue Go pel in it. We have the true worship of God amongstliS, w have hi own ordinances, or we could not have histru wor hip. W hay tru Gospel organized churches in ourisle. We have pr ach rand congr gations of all denominations,both in the Establi hed hurch and out of it, in the three prin­cipal d nominations which dissent from it, Baptists, Independents,and Presbyterians. We have also others, who hold Christ theHead, yet differ in very many things, yet they confess Christ intheir way, and are in !lumbers more numerous than the former.And we have others who are professedly seeking the Lord, whohave not., neither are they willing to have any thing to do with order.

Now these I am going to parcel out, and describe under theterms queens, concu bines, and virgins. I now proceed to thethree particulars proposed, and first will speak of the queens.

r shall accommod:lle this term to the Churches of Christ, suchI mean as are cast into gospel form and order•.r think I mayventure to say, eur Lord Jesus Christ hath had in his BritishChurches, or in his Churches in Great Britain, some of the great­est ministers he ever had, since he sat upon his mediatorial throne,the apostles only excepted, and hath done in his churches in thisland the greatest work he ever wrought since the apostles days.More than a century past, he commissioned his servants to mea­sure the temple and altar, which was done. And the limits andextent of a congregational church was given, and the ordinancesof it, ana the officers in it, and the government of it stated, bysuch men of names, men of renown, as the Lord himself raisedup. Who wrote treatises which gave true and proper light intothi subjt:ct.

IIer upon churches were reared up, and formed more exactlya r cable lo the gospel than had been before. Multitudes wereturned unto tll Lord, and were added unto, and admitted tojoin tll Ill. And the Churches of Christ in this our land, werefavoured with uC'h ministers as are not now in any of ourchurches to be found. Dr. Goodwin, Dr. Owen, Charnock, andothers, who e writings still praise them in the gates. In our times

TIlE GOSPF.L MAGAZINE. 193we have had Mr. Romaillc, II'. Toplady, De Coetlogon, DeCourcey, Dr. Peckwell, an <.I Ja~t,lholl!!;h 11 lit the least, Dr. Hawker,famous Illen in the E tabll ht'c1 ('hlll('h, for preaching Christ,and salvation as compJet I filll.lH'd by him. And as a writerand faithful witness for III i t, \1( hll\,(' had that man of highhonor in the Church oftll li\III' {;od, Dr. John Gill.

We have now in the tabll hllll'lIl, lIlId lit of it, seven)l, whoare bold defenders of tit trlllh I It I III.J 'su , in this dark andcloudy <.lay.

By the. queens, th n, I Ul1d, I I lilt! Ill, Chllr hgospel, form Hnd rd"f, hll\III' Ill, 'vI,t1thlin' go p I in all itstruths allCl do 'Iril1e , \ Illl I1 (Hd III 1111 , ,oflic r , Jaws, rules'andgovernmclIl. 11 \ III ·h u it i frolll 'hrist. hew Ihem to be ofa noble, prille Iy spirit, wh n out of love to Christ, and in sub­mission tu hi will, as lawgiver in his church, his people yieldready submi iOIl to his sceptre. Now such churches ,are verypleasing ill Ih ' sight of hrist-theyare as queens-there is. anobility in th('1I1 tll y ar' glorious and majestic. These are saidto 'be in numu r lllll'('-h 'or ; that i ,there are a certain numberof them; th y IIU' l10t 0 lIum 'rou with us, throughout our land,as to out-vi ol1H'1 ('011'1'1' 'lIliollS in numb r. Now, I accom­modale th word of III le, I dill, as I conc ive it Ul"J suit thepassage, alld C()IIV( , III llUl:tioll to our mind.

As the chur'h of (;1111 I, nil ·d UpOIl III v'r/a ling foullda-tion of the p r'OIl, .Illd w011. I' th 'God-man, alldjoined, squared,polished, and flllll1 d lIl' ording to go pel order, may well de­serve Ihe name of qUI' liS, a, Christ is their king, so the bride ofCbrist suslains thi 1I11IlH'. And a he does as in her own per-on individually COli Idt're d, 0 she most justly may in all her

several and innum ·1.lbl indivl(luals, and therefore may vcryjustly be so termed III 11 'I 11'11(' and proper bodies of saints, asconstituted thereby to III i I, a lIlany distincl budies of hischurch whereof he him II I Ih ht·ad.

The bride is called que 'n III thl . words, upon thy riglltllllnddid ,tand the queen in gold of Ophll. As at d at Ihc right handIII her Lord and king; sll' Il1U I ht, lI\i "d t cligllity and em i­" 11" indeed. As robed ill her Ilnplilll uit of wrought gold;

III list appear most truly nobl" alld Illaj tic. As standing atI1 ·hl hand of her Lord in gold of Ophir, she must attract his

lid heart. Having- given yOIl this accommodation of the• ('ollcerning the first particular of it, the queens, we should

f I '"111 hence to know that our Lord honors his churches,ull , 1111'11I as are pure in faith, in worship, in conversation, in

(Hel" ",I c11~bpline. -Tilt I I I dory put on the true churches of Jesus Christ.

11' i \\ 1111 d1l1l1. lie is in the midst of them. He makes thepia" 1'111 1.1 I dorious. Some churches are patterns to others,

OL.JI.- " \. ~·B

194 TIlE GOSPEL MAGA.zI.KE.

and .om ,ti mes tIlcy are di~tinguished thus :-some of them havean abundance of light and truth. Others an abundance of holi­nes and purity. Others an abundance of zeal and power.Oth rs nn abundance of order and regularity. Others are sok 'pt in strict adhe.rence to all contained in Christ~s commandgiv '11 them in his word, that he says of them, and unto them. Iknow thy works, and tribulations, and poverty, uut thou art rich.Ev ry church of Christ hath some particular and distinguishedgift and grace, by which he PU!S honor on the same.

l am Secondly, to go 011 with observing, that as there arequeens, so there are concubines also, and these are more in num­ber than I he former. There are three-score of the one, and four­score of the other. I am now to speak of the concubines, andshall attribute this term to, and understand it of such congrega­tions as ar of a I gal sorl, lI11d who have not the true gospel andordinanc of.J sus hrisl,)' ,t ar tll y more in number than thetrne chur he' of J su Christ. It i \V~11 known, that preachingand pro~ s ion every wh re abound in, and throughout our land,and free will, and free-will doctrines prevail, so does also what Ithink deserves the title of mixed gospel. By means of whichthe true gospel is most awfully slighted, yea it is even despisedand spoken against. Now, such preachers, people, congrega­tions, and assem blies, as are under the influence and profession ofsuch a religion as leads them into bondage, to lhemselves, to theirown lusts and corruptions, may well be denominated by the term,cOllcubines. Whilst without hesitation I should not fail oflooking on, and'stylin~ all free-will. people, and congregations,let their d nomination be what it may, by this reproachful term.

Th y are not attached unto Christ. They do not cleave untohim. They do not love him. They are secret enemies to him.Thcy are for eating their own meat, and drinking their owndrink, alld wearing their own apparel, only say they, let us becalled by his name to take away our reproach, you may knowthese, as they will always be carping at some trltth of the gospelor other. They will always belor making a great shew in thefleilh. They will always profess more inward experience thanof the knowledge of Christ, yea, they will always make more of itthan of Rny thing which can be said of Jesus, and the power ofhis I' ur tioo. I would a k you beloved, jf according to theac' unt I hllv' iv 11 of them, if they may not be most justlycl nominat 'cl by th t'rm concubin s, whil t all the Arminians inth kingd Ill, \I it h all their profes ion of hrist, may most j lIstlybe I I'm <1, n it r'sp<'cts their assemblies, and their churches,COliC Ibill 'S, Illld on ubine assemblies, as they have net the trueknowl dg' r G <1, far from it, they deprive tbe Father of theglory of his gra(' and overeignty on eternal unconditionalelectioll. They lob th ,'Oil of the living God of his glory in theeternal redemplion or' hi people by his one offering of Himself.

THE GOSPEL I GAZI E. 19611111 Ih' Eternal Spirit of the glory due 110to him in the

1'111111111 "I salvation; and of hi truth and faithfulness in the'I ~ I.ltlllll lle hath made, and ill the testimony he bears in the

1 d 01 d concerning the Father's love to the Elect, and thed vation for the Elect. Yd therc are other concubines

lilt th'se. For such are all who ur' not lawfully married to111111, 1111(.1 who, do not yield them Iv's up to him, in gospel11'.'11 -rH, and church worship in ull thillgs.

IV,stminster. (Tu be ,·ontillllcd.) W.--000--

IIIE CURATE A'r BETHEL, 1'0 III HO OIUBLE Re TOR ENUETH

GREETINGS, GRACE, MERCY ANO PEA P. OE IIIUI.TIPLIf:D.

r,", is to inform you, that the elect lady, and her children expect," see your honor on the Lord's day next, at her ladyship'sI"'l\ceable mansion on Zion's fertile hill; to execute the priestly"nice, and to pray our gracious bishop of souls to bestow onthee ten thousand talen ts of gold for thine hire; as there are

I'V ral things wanted for the use of her ladyship's housebold. Iwdl endeavour to stir lip your pure mind by way of remembrance10 bring with th 'e, th > following sev ral articles. viz:-

A coat wov '11 frolJJ Ih top through ut, without seam, whicb\ ill cov I' a poor inn r fro III heud t foot, and bear the test oftrictest justice and iufinite holillcs , for w' havc ome in the

house who are out of conceit with th ir old filthy rags, and arel kiug a righteol,lsness that will cover all Iheir transgressions,

.L11l1 makc them all glorious within: bring hither the best robe,till! I'ul it on him; 'tis called a wedding garment and the robe of,t ·hlcou ncss, bring also some other cbange of raiment, such asIh· 'armcnt of praise, for here are some in heaviness, and want.L11 '-"change; also the clothing of humility, but let it be thatwhich is wove by the Spirit, and is produced by a feeling sense ofnalure's grcat depravity, and of God's everlasting love in Jesus:Itkcwi~(' IIIl cloak of z ai, f I' we find one here and there, wholmv \lot I'UIIlludl' eu ugh 10 with taud thc world, aud vindicateth· i\lJulTd (' HI.(' ,,1'('''11 l.L '1111 I the (1I'll1i of his Cl' 5 "He\Vu 'lad \Villi /. 'ai, I I Ilh L ('10111..," , 'Ollll "e are also want·ill ' among tu', for om n' IOllglll~ I' 'Iljoy a solid peace be­tlleen God and con 'j 11", ""lIvillg our I' et shod with thepreparation of the gasp I f P a e," wc hall be able to say withrladness " O! how beautiful upon tll mountains are the feet ofI" III that publish peace, and bring rla I tidings of joy.; and bringalso a girdle called truth, for w "IIVC 130me weak ill their loins,you must als,o bring some whole 'om' food, especially the PaschalI.amb, but let it be wcll roa I cl ill the fire of divine wrath, andthen we can eat it. "My n'sh is meat indeed." We haveome perishing with hung r,.nnd you know Christ crucified is a

Ilch repast for a starving oul, but observe you need bring t~e

196 THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

bitter herbs with it, for we have them already prepared. "Beingtroubled on very side, perplexed, but not in despair, cast downbut not destroyed:" and be sure to bring some of the Lamb'sblood in a bason, with a bunch of bysop, for some among uslong to feel the blessings of a purged conscience, by having itsprinkled therewith: also ~ome bread that. came down fromheaven, or manna out of the golden pot, and tell the householdthat the corn by which it was made was bruised for their iniqui­ties: some strong meat bring also with thee, such as eternal love,unchangeable irresistible free sovereign grace; free unconditionalpromises, ullcontroulable power, omnipotent strength, the immu­table oath of Jehovah, final perseverance, and an eternal weightof glory at last, for we have some growing young men in thellOUSC who require strong meat, because of use they have theirscn ex rcised to di c rn between good and evil: you may also'brin rY som milk, but 1'1 il b sincer', for wc have some newbum bab s who ':In liv upon notiling ,Is ; r would not haveyou bring much of il, for be that u tb milk is unskilful in theword, good old wine of tile kingdom, wrung out in the winepress of tbe wrath of the Almighty God, don't let it be mixedwith water, this being too weak for those who are re::tdy to perish,and for others who are fainting and ready to halt! we must havealso a repast of fruit, let a cluster of ripe grapes be brought outof the promised land, for the sight of those will encourage t,hepoor seeking souls who are still in the wilderness of Sinai, 'andwithin the sound of its dreadful thunderings ·and tempest: like­wise bring some apples froUl the tree of life, for some arc sayingcomfort me with appl s, for I am sick of love. "Words fitlyspoken are like apples of gold in pictures of silver," and amongstother fruit, don't f~\il to bring some pomegranates from betweenspiritual Aaron's golden bells, it is a sweet and savoury fruit,very strengthening to a weak stomach, and keepeth from faint­ing, this will refresh the weary, strengthen the weak hunds, andconfirm the feeble knees: yon must also bring some water out ofthe rock of ages, even the water of life clear as chrystal, dqu'tfail if you can help it, for we find those waters very salu tary whenwe are parched with heat, and our tongues fail for thirst, it alsocleanseth us when defiled with guilt, "he that is washed needethnot, save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit:" bring Jike­wi • som oil that flows from the true olive tree, such as is usedto th anointin~ of a person to tbe sacred ofllce of a priest, or tothc di lIifi d oHice of a king; this sacred elixir is prepared bytll IIl!lozing ort of the apothecary and physician of souls; andend avour to bring it in an horn, that the excellency may be ofGod, and it mllY h that some amongst us may he anointed tothe alii, auov' 111 ntioned, for he hath made us kings and priestsunto God; tbi oil i likewise to supply our lamps, the wise tookoil in their vc, I witll their lamps, and as oil makes the face to

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. 197shine, it will be useful to those who are cast down and are ofsorrowful spirit: likewise bring an alabaster box of very preciousointment, or the unction from the Uoly One, to anoint the eyeswith, for we have those in the house who are weak eyed, andcannot see afar off, but are looking only to the things that areseen: this ointment will enable su ·h to look out of obscurity anddarkness,

"I counsel thee to buy of m (LIve to anoint thine eyes,that thou mayest see: brin~ al 0 som Balm of Gilead from thetree of life, for some ar wound cl d ply that nothing elsewill heal them, and O! Illa th> gr at phy ician of souls be pre­sent to heal: you mn brinp; ul~o Olll purging draughts withyou, for some are disord 'reu In their bowels by eating the forbidden fruit, as the old leaven must be purged out; don't forgetto bring your sword, and let it be a true Jerusalem blade, norfear to use it against the sturdy rogues wherewith the hou~e isinfested, viz :-doubts, fears, despondency, carnal reason andsuch like; and as we have those in the house whose twelvemonthis out, and are called into the field of battle against the enemy,bring with you some armour of proof, such as the shield of faith,the helm t of sah'ation, and the breast· plate of righteousness,these support Ih . soul under th sharpest conflict that ever achristian oldi I' can b ngngc<1 in.

Oh! that sw et promi": "grace hall l' ign throuoh righte­ousness unto eternal life :" brin1; also a sling wilh. ome stones forthe promise in the hand of faith is able to bring down the stoutestGoliath that dares defy Israel.

Bring also for me as well as yourself, a bow, one that will notstart aside, and by drawing this bow at a venture, some poorsinners may be wounded between the joints of his harness: andbe sure to let the banner of everlasting love come with you, forwhen we have clear views of that flag, we can then do valiantly,run through a troop, or leap over a wall.

I ring som rown for the 'onqucrors, such as loving kind-III ,lInd lt'lllll'r nWI('i ,and Ill' from whom th 1I I' ' i\'e,t themhdlh,\\I,thl'lIlil'OIln .1t'1I I \\ollh ,llthim hu\'c all the glory,

and d n't forget \\ h n 'Oil \'01111' to bring Ih :>lI'ord with twoedges, bring al () o III , In trllln 'nt of music, such as the greatjubilee t rum pet, for w ha v bOlld- slaves, and insolven t debtors,who are longing for a jail delivery, and to have their feet set in alarge room, and to experience a happy deliverance from theirlong anu painful servitude with their merciless master Moses:likcwi bring Ihe silver trump t, to call togetber the assembly tothe fast of fat thin~s, the murriage supper of the Lumb; O! maythey COI1l who lilT reudy to perish, and bring another trumpet tosound UIl alalnl in God's Ilul)' mOllntain, to warn us of approach­ing danger, alld dOIl't 1'.\11 10 hring the trumpet of ram's horn,these blown ill jditll, ,Ill' ~lIlh('Il'nl to overthrow tl e impregnabl

198 l'H GOSPEL MAGAZ E.

wall of my lIeal J~richo. All power is given unto me in heavennd anla 'uilla the captain of our salvation, and all things are

po 'hible t him that believeth: moreover bring a golden harpnot hun~ upon the willows if you can hdp it, but sweetly strungand ct in tune to praise redeeming love, for jf we should drinkof that wine and forget our poverty, we sball be disposed to havea dance, and I can assure you we have some that can foot it well;music and dancing crowned the day when tlte prodigal son wasreturned safe and sound; and Jon't forget to bring with yourmusic some good old songs, let them be love songs, composed hyour illustrious Solomon, for we have some poor widows that havegiven up all hope of any relief from their dead husband Moses,and long to make a match with my master Jesus, who is the fairestamong ten thousand, yea, altogether lovely: remember to bringvithout fail Aaron' rocl that buddeth and bore almonds, it springs

from th t III of .lessc, 'ti' 11 SII' t and pr ciou fruit, very ex­hilaralin tr to our s'n ", and t I' 'vi v lit spirit: hi fruit wassweet to my taste, said Ih ' spou 'C, b idc'l iI is by this rod thatthe water f tribulation arc parted hither and thither, while theransomed of the Lord pass over; likewise bring it golden censorwith a live coal and frankincense therein, for this will scatter anodoriferous smell, bring also a scourge not of scorpions, but ofsmall cords, for no doubt you will find some buyers and sellers inthe temple; also bring a pair of snuffers, for some of our lampsburn very dimly: rebuke tbem sharply, tbat they may be soundin faith; but be sure take care holY you usc them, for in usingthe snuffers some skill is neces ary lest it he snuffed too close, andtbe light tll reby be diminished; the servant of the Lord mustnot striv , but be gentle: but by no means bring an extinguisher,for 00 such thing WiI llsed in thc temple.

ou llIay likewise bring the two tables of stone, provided youbring them in the ark, for we C(lnnot endure to see them allYwhere else; thy J(lW said tbe l~edeeDler is within my !-reart;lastly don't fail <to bring the parchments containing the ancientrecords of God's eternal purposes and councils, and likewise theprecious 'legacies of our dear Testator Jesus, for there are thoseamongst us who are very desirous to know whether their names

re written in tbe Lamb's hook of life, and are longing to receivefor th Dlselves the durable liches and righteousness promised IDCl' ry I' rat ,there are many otber things I have to write for,h It IlUlbt at pr 'b'nl conclude, and shall ouly add, as you will findtho • variou fl ticlc- too mueh to bear in mind, may you laythem 011 th· I oulders of him whose name is wonderful, whobath told m llll I )'011 to cast our every burden on him, you willknow thi!.! burel 'II-b 'arer by the folJowing marks, if you havesinned ( uti Cl)IIS 'l(U ndy guilt lays on the conscience, he will ap­pear as th' ~11I.a~onitlg Hi rh Priest, with his mitre! ephod, bells,pomegranate, 'Irdl",. hoes and golden censor, agam If your eOIl-

1') G ZHH:. 199mies are endeavouring to defr llId y u of your inheritance and tononsuit you, he will app ar III n n, III w nderful counsellor,and advocate wilh the }<ath 'r, \\11U "'Ilh pI I,(leu our cause, andbrought us 011' Wilh eternal 110 11 III , lid 1l0W lives, and ever liveito make intercession lor U ,/I lill. ,t' llU ar deeply engaged inthe fight of faith, J su \\ ill "PI I I 11 fIll' '''plain of your sal~a­

tion, with his sword drnwlI ill 11111 Ill" 111'1', ILlld 10 your enemiesdownfall; again, if yOlt h, I 11111'11 L I 'Il:d vl('tory over the foe,and have overcom by till hit 11 III Ih I.amh, h ""ill appear asan eternal conqu 'ror 11 I' Ill." III 11111 h 11, ilh ('1\ s of honorin his flesh, ~ rill 'Ill I III d ill 1111011, I1h lrlllll ('r \\ n upon hishead, scale(1 aL till' I1 -hI h "" III III ·'llh, r, hn 1I1g all powerover kingd 1lI~, Ihrull , ptlll 'Ipnliti " and pow'rs in heaven,earth and hell, < lid th k 'j' of the house of David are given intohis bands, he shall op n alld none shall shut, for he must reignuntil all enemies ur put ullder his feet.

Thus, my broth r, you will know him, and you need not beafraid to venture all with him, for he is 11 ilher an Arian, norSooinian Jesus, for all the fullless of the odhead dwells bodily inhim, and that this is the casc, you and I ('nil testify, haviflg sooften call d upon him in lmlllll ,Hnrl h,t I b,', n h ani, answeredand d li rn'd i I, lilt ,'ll ill\ltr 111111 In ,'om' wilh you, forwilhout him ,,/ I d" /1 tIll I • 1111/1 I 110 C "(11 • and proteclionI now I av I I I 1111 I"h t I Im 'rn(' , III rcy andpeace on tll I " I III (. d, 1111'011 ,hout all nges, worldwithout nd.

From h I Ibonus of hn

__(I() 1__

Illll,I,U • WITH THE LAW AND THE

I,O.I'JIL,

lIppo~I'd to he writtcn by thc famous",llUlI to your vuluable mi ccllaoy.

A FHlEND.

A NATUR.<\L (11

THB followilll{ 11Dr. Goodwin, i

200 THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

clcan contrary. It is capable of what thc law saith, for itself is butthc law written in the heart naturally, and it hath an ear to hearwhat tll law aith to a man under the law, but it is deaf to what thego pel saith, and understandeth not a word of it.

If you speak to natural conscience concerning a Saviour, and urgeit to believe on him, its answer will be like to th,at of the Jews, (andit was this principle of conscience which made them thus speak,) asfor Mpses we know that God spake unto him, but this fellow we knownot whence he is : just so, saith conscience; Moses I know, and ifyou talk to me of the law, and what I ought to do, I can hear it, butas for the gospel, the truth is I know not the thing, it is a strangerto me. What comes within the compass of the law, conscience willtell a man of. Come to men troubled in conscience, that makeconscience of all sort of things; the truth is, they make no conscienceof the matter of believing, as if therc were no such command; nay,they think they do well to argnc again t thcmselves, and that theydo well to r fuse the promi 'cs, and they pleasc themselves in sodoing. Now to have the heart to di cern ullbelief as thc greatest sin,and to look upon faith as the great work of God, and without it I amundone. Conscience will never help a man to this; it is the HolyGhost in your hearts, and the gospel must do it. Let me tell you,also, that conscience not subordinated to faith, (as in natural.man itis not) is the greatest hindrance in believing that can be. It is thegreatest hindrance of it, first in respect of the guilt of sin. For whatis the great hindrance of believing? The greatness of your sins, yourhearts clearly misgiving you in that. Now what i it that keeps mentrom believing? Thc greatness of their sins; when their conscienceis awakened, it continually presents to them their sins, and all thediscouragemcnts they have as from their sinfulness, are from a con·science unsprinkled with the blood of Christ, unsubdued to fai th.Conscience hath not Icarncd its lesson from faith, it hath not goneand dipped itsclf in the Llood of Christ by faith, for if it had it wouldbe quiet, and not always be suggesting to a man what his sins are, soas to discourage and hinder him from believing. This the scripturetells us, "Let us draw near with a true ·heart in full ass'urance' offaith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience." What isit that sprinkles the conscience? It is the Holy Ghost in the soul,that by faith takes the blood of Christ, and sprinkles it upon thecon.-

icnce. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the'Eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your con-cienec from dead works to serve the living God? There is nothing

that can atisfy the conscience in respect of the guilt of sin, btlt theblood, and death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When a poorsoul look upon himself as thus sinful, and upon Christ as so holy,hc saith, a' P t 'r did unto Christ, Depart from me, for I am a sinfulman, 0 Lord. And therefore, your consciences, by stirring up theguilt, do hinder you from believing, and whilst that cOBscience shallbe suffered to speak louder tha.n faith, it will cry faith down till that

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. 201faith come and brings in the blood of Christ, and then that crieslouder. lherwise, I say, unless the conscience be {;prinkledby the blood of Christ through faith, Ih Tuilt 0f sin in the consciencewill 'ry down faith in a man' heart, and the voice of sin there willIll' louder than the voice of Chrj ,t' hl< d. on cience hinders faith,if it he not subornated to it, fur {'on' 'll'lIce is a secret enemy andtll' 'Iosest enemy tbat can b' r 1111 (,Hhl'!' thing that is in man, untothe way of believing, and hilld'r the work of faith more closely andccrctly than any thing '1' , till Jl' 1I hri~tllnd his Spirit hath sub-

dlled it to be a ,{'rvant lIlIt f.lilh.To expr - my III nin T, IIlll tll ('Ulllill 'I.' Oll of thi , you will all

yi Id, that klH \ tllIY thill f 'I) 1, thatlhere i 11 thing bO oppositeto th" pel n lh' I w i" uIII' it ue ubjeclecl to the gospel. Ifnny man 'k ulvation in a legal way, he must needs acknowledgeh' cr the way of the gospel. Now, if the law be thus iu itself,a it is a covenant of works, opposite to the gospel, then likewise isnatural conscience, (though never so much enlightened, if it remaintill a natural conscience, as it cloth till faith hath gotten the

victory over it), also an enemy to faith) and must needs be so. Andthe rea on of it i thi, because that natural conscience and the ligbtit take in by th piril, or however otherwise, is the vicegerent ofth· I w, fur it i that prioeipl ' ill 1\ JIllln whieh God hath set up forto III k' a III 11 pprch '0 iv of 1\11 that Ih • law hall. It cloth keep\8 1 may so exprcs it) the law's ourt in 8 man's con cience. Now,n the other side, this great principle of faith, and the Holy Ghost

acting of it, and acting the soul in a way of faith, is that which keepsthe gospel's court; that is, all its proceedings concerning a man's'ondemnation, justification, salvation, and absolution, they are all

dispatched by faith, and that in a way of an evangelical covenant.Now brethren, this is a certain truth likewise, that all men in their

llf\turual condition, they are under the law. Let them be ne\'er somueh enlightened with the knowledge of the gospel, yet notwith­tanding the law is the predominate principle in them. As on theCll trary, he that is brought into the tate of salvation, he is under

1'1.', and being under grace, under the fre grace of God in Christ,e1c r the gospel, he is und r faith,' the upr mc principle in his

III Irt. As the strength of ill i the Inw, 0 the strength of con-,'i 'lice is the law, but th ,Ir '11 Tlh of faith it is the gospel, and the

j.(rtlCC of God in Christ. The npo tic, in Romans vi. compares theI I\nd wace to two sovereiglls, to two kings, which do sway thelilt 1I11t! ' n cicnces in their ~cv -ral ways, that is,- if the person ofIJ 111111 h still under the law, th'l) tll law sways the heart in a legal, I I i' Ill' la ll11tler gruce, then doth the free grace of God in Christ'11 till It Irt ill I1 p'l way.

DW, I" I 11\ 11, ill wh III hith -rto the highest and supremestprincipl' h th " Ill, th,' '(Ill ,j Ill' remaining in its natural defile­ment, thou,1l III '11 11 mu 'h '1I1i Thtenetl, it will be true to its ma -

VOI" 11.- " \, 'l C

202 THE GOSPEL l\fAGAZINE.

ter, true to the law, and will never subject to this new stranger, faith,that will bring the free grace of God in Christ as a supreme principleover the other. It will stand for it to the death,-it will be faithfulto him whose vicegerent it is; it will strive, and especially in point ofju tification. If it have not the face to do it plainly and directly, itwill do it secretly, :md it will turn the very gospel into a legal way.Jf it will comply with the knowledge of the gospel, and the know­ledge of faith exceeding far, yet still it will seek to undermine it; itwill carry themselves into works, and underhand seek to be justifiedby faith.

Conscience, if it did proceed aright, so as to help faith, yet it shoulddo no more than what the law is to do; And what is the laws's office?To show a man his sinfulness, and his inability to help himself to doany thing, to discover corrupt nature to a man, and send him with anew petition to the court of free grace. Conscience should accom­pany faith to hrist, and d 'nl with hri t nakedly and immediately,both for justification and. anctification, and glory, and whatever heis to receive. But this lOU shall find by eternal experience, and itshall be found at later day in the hearts of all men that have notsaving faith, that let there be never so much enlightening, their con­science will still work in a legal way, and will take a clean contraryway to faith. It will proceed according to the legal tenor, though itwill diminish it much, and therefore you shall find this to be true, thatwhereas conscience has subdued the heart in a way of humiliation,to see a man's own sinfulness, and hath brought the heart under,(and then conscience is upon the throne again,) then it will listen,(natural conscience will do so) to hear all that the heart ought to do~

and look what sinfulness it sees in itself, it will set itself to practisethe contrary, and put the heart upon doing it, and will whip the heartas a run-a-way, home to its master, but how to serve out his years,and to make out the time that is lost, and by such ways to get andobtain the favour of God, yea, to get faith itself; and then upon con­forming to what it hears the word say, whether out of the law, or outof the gospel, it will take upon itself to pronounce a peace and ajustification, and an absolution; and thus, instead of being a wit­ness, it will become a judge; it will take upon it to pronounce uponthe heart the sentence of absolution. Yea, and if a man be thus farenlightened, thus far a~ to be convinced, that by the works of thelaw shall no flesh be justified, what will conscience do? It wiII goalld turn all the duties of the gospel, faith and repentance, and mourn­ing for in, and all things else into duties of the law, that is, the heartwill hav that dependence upon theql, that natural conscience hadupon th dutie of the law.

In Homans ix. 32, there is an excellent expression of the apostle,speaking of th Jews that had the ceremonial law, he saith, hesought it not by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.Mark his phra e, a it were by the works of the law. Some of themthat were cnlightened, IInd saw their own sinfulness, knew that their

TIlE GOSPEL IAGAZINE. 20aown righteousness alone would not land them in any stead, and theysought after evangelic grace, (I' I(lv' unto God and the like. Youread of ODe of them, a scrilJ ,thut III ~ unto Christ, I know, saithhe, te Christ, t hat the rest of till' ,I' und Pharisees trust in all thesesacrifices as mere works of th 1.1 , " .1 man must have an inwardwork, he must love God with 1111 th,' h Irt, (jnd all the soul, and allthe understanding, and alllhl' I1 11 lit, lllltllhi' says.he, is more thanthe whole burnt offering lid I 'rilll'I'. lid ur 'aviour Christ tellshim upon this, that h W I 11111 I r IWIII thl' I ill/{dolll of God. Butwhat dOlh he now? 1I tUnll I) thi h hi I" rl pirit a., it were, intoa work of the law. \ • tlllll'II,r', hil t th t '011 I'i 'n remainsthe supreme t prill ·ipl· ( IlIllthill ,I" il mu 11)( I d'IHlly nemyto faith, and till w thl' h'lIrt il OWII wuy, anti it mu 't ever doso tiil the Holy ;)w l halh ubdued the whole heart to a way ofbelieving in the Lord Jesu •

When we shew that in the workings of faith, and men coming onto belicve, duties and good performances, and llew endcavours becometo many the greatest hindrances to believing in Christ alone, and dointerpose themselves, and become between 'hrist and the soul; mentaking up these rest, and coming and putting 'onfid nce in them erethey come to Christ. Whcn th'rer r' \V' 'ry out again t resting induties, and shOl\' thc vanity IIl1d mplin' of all you call do to s;w'you, and obtain hri,t and od' favour, and bid III 'n, a Luthcr,take heed not of their in only, but of their good work al 0; thenmen are apt to say and think, that we cry down all performances, andspeak downright against good duties, and drive men wholly off fromthe performance of them, and not only carnal men are apt to thinkso, but this is the case of poor broken souls, that when this their error,and the emptiness of all their performances to this end is discoveredto them, their hearts flag;' and they sit down discouraged; and theirhands grow feeble in the performance of them. And we find Luthercomplaining of nOlhing more than this mistake and cavil, which ac­<:ompanied his doctrine; the chicfest of whose thoughts Bnd ureathwere pent in this vcry point to beat men offfrom carnal eonfit.! 'nee illwork, (a the 'hiefesl ant.! mo t bottom 'on uptioll in n1l'n" nature)and to bottom their faith illllll 't.!iUI,'ly 1IJ1111l Chri I wh 'r ,in he makesthe power and the truth f faith to 'Oil j'.t \ hi ·h whilst hc endea­voured, this calumny wa till rai 'd, that he spake against goodworks and holy duties. And ,till thi' hadow follows tllis truth, andto this purpose he still profc cth, that u' it was the hardest thing inthl' private exercises of men's spirit, nUllo consult with duties to lay

1)1 ks aside, and to cast a man's oul out or duties, and to lay all uponhri 't; so, it is the-most dif11cult Illtlltcr ill alllhe circle of theology,

to ~iv' bOlh these limits: for whilst duties are only taught, faith iswlwlly lo,t, and whilst faith i IIIgcd, camal people dream, says he,,hut good \\'orks are spoken again I.

DOCTOR GOODWl •

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PARTICULAR REDElIIPTION•

.fF: U CIIRl T the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever, is thebeliever's hope. He is such a Saviour, that is always of one mind,TJlB SAME, IMMUTABLE, "The Christ of God." (Luke ix. 20.)The Old Serpe",t, who is stated to appear somet~mes as an allgel ofligltt, has invented many Christs to suit the reason of his varioussubjects. For the worshippers of space, the God all pride, a godthat cannot send god; for men who reject the 10th and 11 th versesof the 2nd chapter of Zechariah, and other Holy Scriptures) theold Serpent has invented a Christ Jesus, that before he took (£

creature form, had a mind wliich the Father and the spirit hadnot: and Satan's ministers, who appear like ministers of righteous­ness, preach such a Chri t, in order that their god, the god of allpride, may be a knowledged and adored, instead of Jehovah theMost High, who humbleth him elf, the 'od of all grace.

For another portion of his subject, atan !lath inventerl a JesusChrist who redeemed all the world by his blood, and changed hismind as soon as he entered heaven, for he woulduot intercede for allhe redeemed. Satan is willing his subjects should honour Christ asGod manifest in the flesh 011 earth, in the efficacy of his blood,provided they do not give him equal honour in heaven in the pre­valency of his intercession. Satan knows a mutable Christ is a veryagreeable Christ to men in a natural state; and he also knows thata false Cltri$t is death. The true Christ is eternal life: for JesusChrist is immutahle. He is of one mind with the Father and theSpirit! he died for the elect, and he intercedes for the elect. Heknows them all, their circumstances, fears, cares, distresses, temp­tations, and exercises, for they are all present to his view:-He isthe omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent God. And he inter­cedes imperatively. (John xvii. 21. Palm xl. 14, 15,16, &c. &c.,

The subject under present consideration is the immutability, andone mind of Christ, for the nature of the new covenant, and the dis­pensation thereof is opposed to the false doctrine of unit'er:sal re­demption.

I. The new covenant was established, ratified, and confirmed, inand by the death of the testator, Christ, and bis blood is called theblood of the New Testament. Matt. xxvi. 28. And it would be,b urd to suppo e, that Christ did or could die for tho e who weredeau, and abiding the wrath of God; and therefore the virtue ofChri t'. blood could not extend beyond the compass of the newcov nunl; neilher was this new covenant made universally with all,but wil h om who are distinguished as el,ct according to the fore­lmowledtre 0 (; d. This truth appears from the nature of the newcovenant; but before I proceed further on that point, allow me tomake two ou ervation : first, that as all mankind, in the order ofnatural generation, were in Adam, and him sinned, and were guiltyof his sin: and what he did, they being in him, each of them would

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. 205have done, if he had been in them. 2. That in consequence of originalsin, comlemnation passed Up01l llllme1l. It is not therefore an actof justice, but of grace that ome arc interested in the death ofChrist. And it is not an act of ilJju tic, but of justice, that some ofmankind are left, and that all the an rei who fell are left to theirdoom. and treasure up to themselv 's wruth against the day of wrath.Secondly, the Creator will judge th' non-elect as their C"eafor, towhom as creatures they owed perfect obedience; and for... theirtransgressions they will be nd 'mn 'd: Bc will not judge them astheir redeemer, for in truth if h ' had b ell their red emer he couldnot condemn them, beeau 'I.', in .0 doi ng he would be condemningllimself, as not having ati lied Ih full d manrls of Divine justice,for all Ihcir sins: it is therefore impossible for Christ to have re­deemed all, unles~ all were elect.

But to return to the nature of the covenant; this is clearlydescribed in Jer. xxxi. 31, 32. a'nd Heb. viii. - 9-11. in thefollowing words, "I will make a new covenant with the house ofJudah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathersin the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of theland of Egypt; (which my covenant they broke: though I was anhusband to them, saith the Lord.) NOl according to the covenantthat I made with their f/lthers, in the day that I took them by thehand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, beau e they contilluednot in my covenant, and I regarded them not aith the Lord. Forthis is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israelafter those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws ill their mind,and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, andthey shall be to me a people; and they shall not teach every manhis neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord;for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. For I willhe merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquitieswill I remember no more." Here, then observe, the conditionof the covennnt is not said to be required, but it is absolutely pro­mi cl; "1 will pUl my law in their mind, and write them in their11 I' 11 I ." 11 r 11 d' CIII H'I (' Il I Id,' I \\' dip ul III y fta rill l 11 c i l'111'.Ill'" lid tile le' I till dlfJ.'I'1l1 I' Ill'tl \'\'11 till' old ('QV nalltalld tilt' III IV, 1I1;lt I11 ,hI' "Id 1111 1.0Ic1 rlld I quir llle fullilling oftll conditioll' I1 nd, 'd, bill III ,11' III I llle Lord promiselh to

£re l ill th'lll III III cif, 1\ 1111 whom tile covenant is made. Andwithout hi spirilual ·l1icaey II lIich the Lord himself hUlll engaged10 dll, the new covcnulll would be a' weak, and ineffectual toblln" U~ allrl ullile us to God, a the ult!, For in what consistedIh IV 1I1(1H's, and unprolilablen . s of the old covenant, fur whiehGod ill hi 111("\,' abolish cl it? Was it not in this. because byreason of ~11l \\'C' 1II'r<' 110 wa ' able to fulfil the condition thereof," ])0 lhi' alii/it ('I' \"d ar' lIe allY way more able to fulfil the('onditioll of dl(' 11(',' ('01 '11,1111, II,an of the old? ]s it not as casyfor a lIIau by III own l1\ 11 Ttll 10 fuHil the whole law, as to repent

200 TIlE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

and believe in his heart the promise of the gospel? Surely, then'therc is one main difference between these two covenants, thatthe Lord did in the old require the condition to be performed byhis er atures, but in the new the Lord will efFect it in all, towhom this covenant extends. And if the Lord had exactedthe condition required in the new covenant of us, and not workamt ejfict it also in us, the new covenant would be a revelation toincrease our misery, and not a communication of grace and ofmercy: if then, this be the nature of the New Testament, asappears from the very words of it, and might abundantly beproved, that the condition of the covenant, should certainly b.y

Jree grace be wrought and accomplished in all that are in thecompass of the covenant, then no more are included in thiscovenant, than those in whom the conditions are or shall beefrect d by God him If; for h only can effect them: for it isthe work of d to b,li V 011 him whom Ill' hath sent; (.Johnvi. 29.) and it is the e:r.:cewmg gl'eatlles of hi power which isput forth in them that belie\'. (Eph. i. Jg.) Tliat the newcovenant doth nut include all mankincl within it, is very evident,for" all men have not faith," it is the faith of Gael's elect. There­fore the new covenant is not made with all, or all would be saved;bllt it is a covenant ordered in all things and sure to them thatbelieve. or that shall believe to the saving of their souls. Yeaevery blessing of the new covenant being certain, is sure to bec~lmmunicated to all interested in it, and faith is one of them,the gift of God, and of the operation of God, anti all are to haveit, who are interested in the new covenant.

It is also very evident, that the new covenant doth not inclu(!eall th human race, b cause thousands have liven for years anddied, who nev r heard a word of it, much less received the graceQf it.

The new covenant was made known to our first parents on thefall; Gen. iii. 15.; it was renewed, if I may so speak, with Noah;and it was established with Abraham and his seed, who are calledheirs of the promise, because Gael gave it /0 Aura/Win ulJ pl'omt'se

for tltis end and purpose, that the purpose might he sure to all theseed. The promise depending solely on God's faithfulness, whichcun never fail, made it sure to all the seed. Yea, that first dis­tinction between the seed of the woman, and the seed of the ser­pcnt, is nough to overthrow the pretended universality of theco nant of grace; for who dares aftlrm that God ever enteredinto n rOt'C1l01lt qf grace with the seed of the serpent r Most ap­pal' III III 'n it is, lhat the new covenant of grace, and the pro­mise·th I' of,areallofthem of distinguishing mercy,restraincd tothe peopl whom God did foreknow and elect, and so not extendeduniversally t ,d!. ow the blood of Jesus Christ being the blood.of the new cov nant, and as it was shed for them for whom hewas surety; it caunot have respect unto them for whom he was

THE 00 P ,I. MAO AZINE. 207not surely; hence the :mxiou nquiry of' an awakened is, "AmI interested in the new cov nant." Uut if it extended to all,there would he no such anxi ty in th' n wly awakened! Whatwise man would pay a ran om for tll( d ·Iiv ry of those captives,he is sure will never be set at lib rt ? I it answerable with thejustice. of God to receive full \I (!lnioll fr m the surety, andfor the debtor to be kept for v I' ill /lri Oil? Is it consistent wit:.the goodness and perfectioll I' (th Fath 'I' to manifest theul1ulterablr. nature of hi lov> by ncllllg I i . n, and sparinghim not, and all to as ur u, how that WIth him, hr." iltfrrel,y givt!liS at! things, and ill th lld, t U!lIl1Il th III / I it an w rabIeto the love of hri t to u , lhat h houlcl r' olv' at hi death, byhis one offering to put away the sin of nil hi Cl' atures for ever,and when he entered heaven to change his mind, and determinethat all of them should never have the benefit of.it j for he wouldnot intercede for them?

It is written, they (the elect) slwll be all taught of God, and everyone that the .Father hath given to Christ shall come to Christ, and 110

012r. can come to him, except the Father draws Mm. Then, is itconsistent with the wisdom and power of God, that Christ shoulddie for those, that wer never taught of God, and the Fathernever drew to hri t? If it was, it would b 'lll Oil as if a princeshould say and pr claim, that \Vh rea th re b a nllmb I' of cap­tives held in sore bondage in ueh a plac , and h hath rcattreasure, and resolves to redeem them all; so that v ry one ofthem shall come out of captivity; but nev rtheless, before hepaid the ransom, he never let the heathen captives know of hiskind intention, and therefore, they were not benefited by it; andafter he paid the ransom, would not let his messenger carry thegood news thereof into Bith)'nia, so that some of them were neverthe better by it; Now it is most clear, from the Holy Scriptures,and the experience of all ages, both under the Old Testamentdispensation, and the new, that innumerable men, whole na­tion ,IV I' absorbed in gross darkness, and heathenism for a long

a~ n, an vidcllt proof that tll' IV I' pas 'd by, whilstotht'r obtailled III 1'(', Und 'I' tht, Old Tt' tnul nt, "Ill Judahwa God kilO' 11, IIlId hi'llfWIr. was "1' lit in J.I'I/(:!, at Salem was histabemacle, and his dl£,tllill/:J 1)111 r. lit ZioIL. (Psalm Ixxvi.) Hesluwed his 'word ul1toJacob, IIl1d hi judp,ment unto Israel; he hatllnot dealt so '(~ith allY natz'oll, and as for his]lIdgments th~y have notknown the'm. (Psalm cxlvii. 19, 20.) To these discriminatingr cords may be added, those impr atiolls upon the heathens asill Jeremiah x. 5, "POU1' out thyjul:Y upon tile heathen that knowthee not, and upon t"efamilies that calf 1/ot upon thl! name: Ofwhom we have a full de cripti Il in Ephesians ii. 12. "WithoutChrist, aliens frolll the COnLll1onU'ealtlt of Israel, and strangersII'0m 'hr covenant of pl'o,n"se having 110 hope, and without God ill

the 7corld." And unci r the N<::IV Testament, though the church

208 TUE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

hal!1 confirmed hel: cords. and stren~the~led her stakes, and manynatiOn are come III to the mounla:n of the Lord j yet now alsosrri ~tll rand e.xperien.ce do make it clear, Ihat many are passed by.?!/ILlwN.I" 1Il C/I~lla, which we can give 110 other reason, thall the

.7 l1 c!rr/llcnt of God, and the words of uur L rd, "Even 0 Father,jll)" so it seemed good ill t/~IJ sigilt !"

Then, why reader was you born in Britian and not in Chioaor elsewhe~e, without Christ, &c? Why. reader, was yo~not born, III the back settlements of St. Giles, Whitechapel,or Westminster, of the tllost profiigale of matJ!,ind? Orwhy was you not born, before the New Testament dispensation,a heathen, or why was you not born befure the flood, when theearth was filled with violence? Or why was you not born aMuhomelan, &c? Think of these things, Ihey will help to k-eepyou hUlnble, and pr s rve you from believing in a false Christ,and froll1 wor hiring aJuh: God I

( 1 '0 be COl/til/ued.)

---000---

TilE MEDITATION OF CIIRIST llRJEFI.Y CONSIDERED •

.. There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the manChrist Jesus." 1, TIM. ii. 5.

THE mediation of Christ is that opon which all the hope of achristian is founded. There could be no hope for a sinner butfor this. His mediation is the constant theme of divine revela­tion, and every believer delights to dwelluIJon it in all his medi­ations; and it is only in thi· way that he can rejoice and be gladin the Lord, for Chri t i "tlte way, tlte truth and the life, and110lle call come to the Father but by him.

,\11 things were cr ated by J 'us Christ, and for Jehovah'spleasure they were created. And cv ry thing in the visiblecreation affords striking evidence of the wisdolll as well as powerof the Cre:J.tor. "All t~y works shall praise thee, 0 Lord; andthy saints shall ble~s thee. They shall speak oJ the 'glory 0/ t/(ykingdom and talk 0/ thy power." But that part of creation whichmost concerns us, is man: "the propei' study of mankind isman." He wa3 made upright and responsible to God his Creatorfor his actions. Continuance in natural life and bliss was thecondition annexed to obedience; death and evetlasting miserytu tran gr ion. He was lempted, he transgres cd, and thus" by o!le malt S'll entered into the world, alld death hy sill; and socleat/l pas I'd !If/on all men,jor tllat all have sinned." Rom. v. 12.1 shall not h 'I' 'nquire whether the fall of man, so awful in itself,and so d· tr\letiv 01" human happiness, occurred by chance, orill a cordauc \ ith the eternal purpose of God; that it did ac­tually oc 'ur Ihe s 'riptures plainly state; and every feeling withinus, if spiritually alive, as well as every thing around us, in thecircu1l1stancel' of mall, con 'urs to place the truth of this fact

r .-

THE GOSPEL ::I1AGAZINE, 209beyond a doubt. But what i· mo t important and consolatoryto know is, that, antecedent t t ll fall, provision was made forthe recovery and everlastine: salvatioll of the chosen church, andthal in the person and medlallOn of our Lord Jesus Christ, whoverily was fure-ordained'" ul'/o/,(' tll' foundation of the world,and ill the fullness of lim llH\lIlf~' It d ill the lie h.

,'in made a separation h'l\nl'lI (;od and hi- intelligent crea­ture, man. By sin his nalllr I ('orrllpl'd Rnd in con equenceall the thoughts and il1lll yilllllioll of hi h 'lilt nr only evil con­tinually. His a~ clioll Ill' all 'llIIt·<\ frolll ( od and truth, andhe loves darkue mth 'I' IIIlIn li 'ht, b cau.c hi cl d are evil.Instead of lovin:' God, h i now, in hi uureg nerate late, fullof enmity against him. He cannot reconcile himself to God ifhe would; nor can God reconcile him consistently with his jus­tice without the intervention of a mediator. God is wholly andjlfst, and he has righteously decreed to punish sin ill every sinnerunreconciled. The consciousness of tbis fills the souls of men attimes with tenor and dreadful apprehensions at the prospect ofdeath and Cl judgment to come. A sinner, con cious of his guiltand destitute of the knowl d/? f a m dintor, woulcl rather beannihilated than 'om tu od III jlld'ln lit; hut 10 thi v ryonemust come, how v I' 1'<>lu ·tllntly, for \VI 1I111 t nIl npp nr h forethe judgment s at of hri t, to .. hOllt /Ill jllcl!{In('llt ha ueencommitted by the Father, and 1>1(' ~ 'd 11' th 'y, lIlld only they,who have their judge for their In Illlltor,

" There is one God, and om: I dia/or bc/u'f'U1 God and mm, tlieman Chl'i.,t JISUS." Thi i II r '111111 kaul text. It is an apple ofgold in a picture of silver. 1\ " h It r. till, for this man is moreprecious than gold, ev 11 lit .old 0 W cl.... of Ophir. "Thismall," saith the prophet, .. .\Iw/l /i,. /hl' peafe ;" he is the peace ofhis people, baving "made PI/(/ (II/III/"h the blood of Ms c/'oss:"and therefore "throll It tIll tllll/l I I'ruldl d unto I/S the jo/'­givenes . of sin ."

Th t 't contain 11111 \\1\ ht propo ili 0 ;

the fir', of \ hll'h i I. "I, , '1'111 Irlllh, which isself-evid nt, \ 11 fllllll 11 I I 1111 cl III Ih' (hul 'h uy Moses inthese emphati \ 01 tI • I J/ I () I 111,[ 11, 1,oNi Oil/' God is olleLot'd." at 00(' pt I fIll, III till '(llltllll i clearly implied inIhe original lJlural 1l'/111 .t tlll "(1'1 d ,.. Iaration; but the doc­trine of the Tltl I r III I 11' dol' Ilot I -t upon plural appella­tions nlon , nor y '( I III 1\ • fOI Iltl' I'Iltl\('r, the Son, and the HolySpirit, ore pokl n 01 I pll I. IlId indeed they speak of them­selves Ihlllll hOlll lit rlplllll' , hilt more especially in the

"I J I I ,1t""lil, tu lie rendered foreknown. The.. ,,1,.....;" 601, 11.., ",,,,,1 verse, is prognosin,' and the par-

I I1 I' • I IJroegnosmenolt. These Iwo words <11'

,. I. ,,,I \1'1 Y " '/lrJ)' related, See 1, Peter i. 2. 20.~D

210 THE GOSPEl. MAGAZINE.

new testament, as distinct persons, filling distinct covenantoftice', alld performing distinct" covenant operations. And it isonly by the relation that these three persons bear to each other,in covellant purposes and transactions, that believers have a sa.ving .\cquaintance with the mysterious and sublime doctrine of Cl

Trinity in Unity. What Godhead 011 the divine essence is illits If, in its real and necessary self-existencc, no Illall knows, nor<.:an know; and the divine persons, essentially and as to the modeof their existence, are equally remote from all human and finiteknowledge. Names, however appropriate, can afford us no ade.quate ideas of a Being so incomparably great and powerful. AllI hat can possibly be known of God's essence and power is throughhi word and works. These bear witness of him. "The !leavensdfda1'/: the rrlory oj God; Ollr! the .finnmJ1ellt slzeweth !lis haTid,yll"ol'k. Dl/Y 711110 (1t~1j uttt'Nth .1/W'c!I, (/lIrI lIi{!,ht unto nirrht shewethkn07";/ dgl'. There is 110 spc/'I'h 11M' /llllgua,"e where theil' voice is

Jlot 11Il/l'd. Blit" 110 1JI1I1l hllth se/'Il God lit I/1~Y time: the on~1Jbf{fottf'71 &)11, wlu'ch is in the bosom of the Flit/UT, lit: Ital!t declaredIlimstl)." And this brillgs me to the second proposition of thetcxt. There is "olle mediator, the mart Christ Jesus."

This part of the text is a great favorite with Unitarians whodeny the divinity of Christ, and consequently a Trinity of per­sons in Godhead; but it is not less j)recious tu me on that account.Because hc is a man, therefore, say they, he cannot be God.And so they oppose their futile reasoning to divine revelation;and uecause nobody can explain how thr e distinct persons canbe qualJy alike God, they rej>·t the Trinity and embrace the

nityonly. Blit >le mu t I 'av Ih<-111 to grope along by the vainand de eilrul light or thtir lo~i 'al yllogisms, whilst we do wellto lake h ed to th light of I' v 'Iatioll which alone CHn guide ourfeet into the way of right Ol1sn s nno peace.

In the scriptures this yery "man Christ Jesus," is declared tobe c, the SOil 0/ C;od li'l"tll power," ano ,( C;od OTJer all blessed forel'er," and further, "the true God and eternal/ife. It is uselessto multiply evidences, but it were easy to do so, for they stand sothil:k in the scriptures as the stars in the firmament of heaven;ano how anyone, receiving the scriptures as a revelation fromGod can d ny the divinity of the man Christ Je us, it is difficultto ('on '('i,'. J may, however, just observe by the way that theopcn and undis~ui eo deist, is far more consi tent, and also lessdallgelous t tllC P ace of the church, than the insidious andcrarty lJnitl\1 ian. The former openly allack~ the outworks of('/Imps; tll(' l/lttN under false colours and by other stratagems('I'CCpS inlo the' citadel. Paul was in perils among the false bre­thren and thcrcfol" he very properly warns liS against such.But lily ohj,·t is not to give currency to man's error, but tomaintain and d fl'lIo ;od's Ifuth. "The wnnlwas 1IIarLeJlesh, anddwtlt among us, tllld ,n: uehdrl his glo1'!), the glol:lJ as q/ the on(I)

THE GOSPEL 1\1AG AZINE. 2 11begotten of the Fatherfull of gTOce and truth." It is quite clearfrom scripture that the man hrist J 'us, is one person with the" Word or Son of God," who i '0- t rnal and cc-equal, and ofone substance with the }'atll r aud the Uoly Spirit, "I and -n~y

Father m'e one," said JeRus to th' J w . ot olle person, but oneGod. Upon wbich the J ws w r' r ad)' to stone hi m, not, saidthey for a good work, " but f r bin 'ph Illing j and because thatthou, bein!/ a man mak~st t;'JjS /} God." Like our modern Unita­rians, because they could nllt ('OU 'I'iv(, by th ir accllstumed pro.cess of reasoning, h IV a lIIan uuld!J( onc 'od with the Father,they rejected enlirely hi t(· lIlIlony 'on' 'rning hilUS If,und, also,the works-the mi Tilly IV rk '-which he did, and to which hereferred thcm as conclusive confirmations of testimony. But,aftcr all, it comes to th,is-'e no mall can sa}) that Jesu:," (the man?" is tlte Lord, out ky the Holy Ghost," Paul was a fierce and in·veterate persecutor uf the church, believing the man Jesus tohave been an impostor j but ,e when it pleased God to -reveal his Sonin him, immediately he conferred not with flesh and blood:" hisvain reasonings and opposition of science, falsely so called,.fe1lt0the ground: so powerful in the word testilllony of the Holy Spiri{.

But ·till, \\" Illu't not forg l that it i~ as nH\Il J sus is the onemediator. Th' word uf th' t xt ar' too plaill to b mi tal< 11,

and too preej~e and d 'fillit • to ue p rv 'rted frolll th ,jr 11'11' alldobvious meaning. "~on of IIWII" j the appellatioll by whichthe Lord of life and glory was after pleascd to call him elf. Asman he obeyed the laws commands, and endured in agony anddeath its penalty, 5uff'ering the just for the unjust j and if he hadnot been man personally he could not have mediated successfully~o as to reconcile sinners to God, for "without shedding 0/ blourjthcre is l1u rcmis;,iIJll," and, consequently, no reconciliation.

The mediation of" the lllan Christ Jesus," is exercised chieAyin his suretyship ancl priesthuod, In conjnnction Wilh hi killglypower ovcr all tlesh. But thesc ollicial 'hilract r', if I Illa)'"ocall tllelll, did not orisinilte fr III IlilJ)"dl~ but 111(' Filth 'I', wl1()~('

will he caJlle inlo Ih· world to do. J I" Wll' lllad' a Sill >Iy of abettcr cov lIallt thall the ]0 al(' l'IIl'; hi' glClllli ,cl 1I0t himself tobe made Cl lligh Pri 'I, hill 1IIIII lhat illd lllllo hllll, t1IOU art mySon to.day have I b 'gotH'll Illl' j alld a' king hc was set uponthe holy hill of Zion, alld all p IV 'r wa, cOlllmitted UlIto him bythe Father. Yet ther' i' a pr ·vlliling and eXlensively popularnation ill1long professed chrislilln~, Illat the Son -of God offeredhimself 10 be the mcdiator, and thut by his illtercession the l"atherwas lIJOV 'd 10 pilY fallell Illan illld 10 olrer to him terms of salva­tion. Alld hl'lIl" 11'(' (Hilt tillll' IllId illld hearthat Christ recon­ciled God to 1lIIII'j , IIl1d pllll 1111 "d ru)' them whom he redeemedalllheir pil'ltlllll 1111' Ill" Hilt tht' truth evidently is, that tlJ('l'enever was UII ' 1IIIIIil ' 1111 lhl' I'alher's part; the enmity is all 011

the parl of rail I1 1111111 I II IIU never CUll really love God until

212 THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

they aI" p r uaded that God loves them. The love of God theFath I' is the moving cause of Christ.'s mediation and all thehie s cl on quences arising therefrom. He loved his chosenpeopl> \ ith an everlasting love, and the mediation of Christ istie e{)ect and fruit of it, not the cause, "for God so loved theworld, that he gave his only begotten Son, that <: hosoever bdievethin him should not perish, but have everlasting lije" "He thatspared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall henot also with him f"eely give us all things?" And Christ" gaN:himselIfor our sins, that he might delivC1' us from this present evilwOTld, according to the will of God and OUT Fatha." Gal. I. 4.And, moreover, it should always be borne in mind that the media­tion of Christ was not an after contrivance of God, fur the ac­complishment of redemption, consequent upon the fall, but wasand is " accordiflg to the eternal purpose which he pLtrposed in ChristJLSU> OUI' Lord," and to th' develop m nt of which the fall itselfWilS made subscrviellt. " ! th cl pth of the riches both of thewisdom and knowledge of God I how umearchable arc hisjudg.ments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known themind (If the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? or who hathfirst given to him. and it shall be recompensed unto him again?For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: ·to

whom be glory for ever, Amen.We can know nothing of the purposes of God but by the re­

velation he has himself made of them in his own written word.And by the same means he has been pleased to make himselfknown in a Trinity of person, tanding in covenant relation toeach other, and to the church, el cted in Christ Jesus, the electhead. What Jehovah i in himself in his own nature and essence,we are and vel' mLl t be totally ignorant of. A finite mind can­not pussibly have any knowledge of an infinite and invisible self­existing Being. But every child of God, when regenerated andtaught b~ the Holy Spirit, knOlvs, in a way of acquaintance andcommunIOn, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghust, as a cove­nant God, agreeably to that promise. "They all shall know tilej1'om the least to tlte g1'eatest qf them, for 1 will be meTcijitl to theirunrigILteousness and their sins and iniquities I will TemembeT no1IIore." By divine teaching they acquire a saving and satisfyingknowl dg of the three divine persons in the Godhead, but stillof th > odht'ad itself they know nothing. As in the departmentof naLUr od is only known by his works, so also in the depart­m nt of grace. Here each person becomes known to the believerby his dlstin 't and characteristic work, in the accomplishmentof the t mal cov nant purposes. So the Father is ascribed t.heplan of salvation and the choice of its objects: to the Son andSpirit the ex 'cntion, in the several parts: and each of these actsin subQ1'dinution 10 the Father, who predestinated all things.But the subordination i only in official station and operatiun, if

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. 213I may so express it, and not ill divine personal existence. Inthis respect none is afore or aft r the otber, but all the three per­Sons are co-essential and co-eternalLOgether without any differenceor in quality.

ow, saith Paul, to the Galatian., "a mediator is not {!f oue,but God is one." Not of one party, but of both, and suited to actfor both. Therefore a divine r'r on, singl as such, cannot bea fit mediator between God und III ll. And I recollect that thelate excellent Dr. Hawker ha - om 'wh rc ob crved that we canno more approach the :011, nod, th:m the Fath r or HolySpirit, without a an diator-all lh divin p rs n being eqnallyand alike in3cce ibl· to a SllIn r. 1I n·e app ar' the proprietyof Paul's languag ill th text-there is 'C one mediator betweenGod and men, tIlt; 1Ilan Ch1'ist Jesus." Never man spake li~ Ibisman; and he <.lid what no other mf\n could do; and for this rea­SOli: he was God as well as man. He passed in perfection theessence and qualities of manhood conjoined with the essence andattributes of Godhead. This is the glorious mediator, pre-eminentin allrhings, the wonder of angels, and the aclmiration of all themthat believe. We are Chri t's, and Christ is God's. Our life isllitl with bri t in God. W, i1r th building, h· the foundation,fonnd d Rnn l'l'stinJ? on ill1l1lutabl' (odbrad. flail, tholl mostgloriou Chl'i I! and wh n Ih work of nl ·cliation hull have beencompleted in th resurrection and glorifi utioll of th righteous,and the nnal condemnatlon of the ungodly. It then cOlI/etlt the end,u·1U:1l /u. sh.all have delivered up the kingdom to Gorl, evm th( Fatlter,rdull he shaLL have put dowll alt rule, and all authorit1J and power,And rdun aLL tlungs shall have bew subdued unto him, thell shall theSOil also himself he sufdect unto him that put allt/lings under him,that God mal} he all in all."-/Jmen.

December 26,1836. 1\ LAYMAN.1 wish the following to be considered as a short appendix. If

any reader of these paRes think' that thc personal humanity ofGod our Saviour ha bCt'1l e)\l'r'~ d LOo di tin ·tly, alld dweltlIpon tOll Illuch, ) would ll'g I' 1" ,tfully to I' COIllIIl Ild 10 hisseriou 'on Id 'ration an oll. 'I vat ion of Ala,wll's, pulllisl,ed in theform of anot in l3ullyan' I'd, rim 1'1'0l-;r·,'. My attention WilSpointcd to it after I had wl'itl 'n the above papel'.

" Here we find our J\ulhor peaking of our blessed Saviour asMAN. He excels in this. It were to be wished that authors andpreachers would write and speak more of the manhood of Jesus,who wit a perfect MAN, like unto us in all things, except sin. Atthe ame time I'cmembering, that !lE IS GOD OVER ALL, RT.ESSED'

FOIt BVEHMOIlE," Add to this, the testimony of 1lawker, Com­mentar)', I, Cor. vi. I .

"Tile 1\1'1' 'd IIllly bllll of 'h ris!, wbieh the Son of God wo/.:into union wilh hinl, i.. flU 'OIlIlL, But Christ's mystical b c1y isthe \\ hole church. ow it i' I.ighly importatlt that thi ::.hould

2 14, THE GOSPEJL M,AGAznm.

Le thorou~hly understood and apprehended by every member ofChrist's tllystical body."

---000--­

BERRIDGE'S LETTERS.

LETTER. V.Evertol1,Aug, 31,1773.

DE.\1l AND HONOURED SIR,

YOUR favour of the 26th came duly to hand, with an enclosed paper,which brought me on my, knees for a blessing for you and yours.­One hundred" Golden Treasuries" are also received, and more thanhalf were disposed of last Sunday; the rest will follow quickly. Mystock of Bibles and Testaments is almost gone, and when it suits Ishould be glad of a few of the smallest Bibles and Testaments. Thelabouring poor, who go Ollt to work, may carry these in their pockets,and peru'c lhem at meal time'; alld the typ' of th malic t Biblesis nearly a large as lZmo. I thank yOll for the friendly admonitionyou gavc me respecting Mr. Fletcher. It made me look into myheart, and I found some resentment there. What a lurking devil thispride is! How soon he takes fire, and yet hides his head so demurelyin the embers, that we do not easily discover him. 1 think it is ad­visable to write to Mr. Fletcher, though despairing of success. Hispamphlet will certainly be published, now it is wrote. Indeed, Ihave wrote to him aforetime, more than once, and besought him todrop all controversy, but he seems to regard such intrealies, as floW'­ing rather from a fear of his pen, than a desire of peace. His heartis somewhat exalted by his writin~ , and no wonder. For his so­phistry is endowed with great acutenes ,which though much admiredby the world, is a great obstacle to a quiet chilli like spirit; and heis at prc ent eagerly seeking after" I 'gal p rtection," which naturallyproducetll con trover ial heat. A gospel alld peacc, so law and con­troversy go hand in hand together. How tall lawyer live withoutstrife? In such a situation, I know from my own sad experience hewill take the Scotch thistle for his motto, " NOLI ME TA 'GERB."

But I trust his heart is upright, as his labours are abundant; and Ihope my master will serve him by and by, as he served me, put himinto a pickling-tub, and drench him there soundly, and when hecomes out dripping all over, he will be glad to cry, Grace, grace!:IIlU a littlc child may lead him. We learn nothing truly of ourselves,or of grace, but in a furnace. Whatcver Mr. Flctcher may writengain t my pamphlct, I am determincll to make no reply. I dare nottru t my own wi, ked heart in a controversy. If my pamphlet isfaulty, let it he overthrown, if sound, it will rise up above any learnedrubbish that i cast upon it. Indeed, what signifies my pamphlet orits author? While it was publishing, I was heartily weary of it; audreally have been si 'k of it since; and concluded it had done no good,because it /lIet with no opposition. I thank you heartily for the kind,offer of your assi,tance; but no more will bc wanted for a long sea-

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. 215son; and till 1 am sunk in a deep slough, I dare not ask you or anyone to help me out. God has given me a free heart to dispose of mysubstance, antI I am no more indebted to myself for this liberality,than a nightingale is for her wings 01' voice. But I feel a backward­ness sometimes to be another's almoner, lest my honesty should besuspected, and this perhaps ariseth from the pride of my heart; aliberal mind was given me from a child, which made my carnal rela­tions prophesy of me, that if I lived to be a man, I should surelyprove a beggar; but I find, "ne that watereth, shall be wateredagain," and though I am PO'5 d of a good vicarage, and some sub­stance beside, 1 Iwow of no 'Ocdunl way of tarving but by giving.When Jesus op Hed mine eyes, my heart was so enlarged, that Igave away money and books without discretion, and was frequentlyimposed upon. These impositions are every where met with by be­nevolent people, are trials for benevolence; for every virtue must betried; and where benevolence is not rooted in the heart by grace,such trials overset it. I suppose they 21re intended also to teach uscaution: they have made me cautious, but I am afraid of growingSUSPICIOUS, for we are apt to run into extremes; and it is better tobe imposed on sometimes, than" turn away a real needy person un­relieved from our door. 11'. William ' ca e sheweth, that when theLord ha brought hi p ople into xtrcmity, he is n ar at hand to re­lieve them, and by the providential tep to bring Mr. William intothe living, and his antecedent trials, it should seem that a great dealof usefulness will be opened. In r~ading over your Golden Treasury,I found the same paper with a little addition, in November the 5th,and Deeember the 12th. May the good will of him who dwelt in thebush, dwell with you and yours, and with your much obliged and affec­tionate servan t,

JOHN BERRlDGE.

LETTER VI.

Everlon, Sl'Pt. 18, 1773.

DEAlt Sill,

I have rec -ivcd ~ix dozen of Bihll'~, as many T - taments, and threehundred and eighty Watts' n~" a mo t acceptable present forGod's children. May th· Cod of grace give a recompense, by fillingyou with joy and peace ill b lieving. You know the promise, " Hethat watereth, shall be watered again." HolY precious is God! hegrants ability to giv~ and bestows a heart to give, and then recom­penses the gift. Oh how little mine eyes behold the riches of grace,yet my heart longs and prays to behold it more, and to adore andglorify it more. The Golden Treasuries are now dispersed among myflocks, some in ne town, and some ill another, and are much valued.About a doz Il ar yet) oft to drop into people's hands, as I shall findoccasion. Watt'~ ongs arc tempting things for children, and \Veiladapted to season their mintlll'ith religion. The sight of your Biblesand Testaments filled my heart with joy, for my hearers are Bible-

21ft l'IIE GOSP1,;L MAGAZINE.

readers, and prefer the Word of God to cvery thing. In general,they arc per ons of great simplicity, ann are Calvinists, and so happyas not to know what a Calvinist or Arminian means. I have wrote toMr. Fletchcr, and told him what was my intention in speaking again~t

" incere obedience," and that my intention was apparent from thewhole drift of the pamphlet. I have also acquainted him, that if histract is published, I shall not rise up to fight with him, but will be adead man before he kills me. And I further told him, I left the bat.tie to that great casuist Mr. Toplady and himself, but 1 wished theycould both desist from controversy. A letter seemed need ful, yetI wrole to him without any hope of success, and it appears thereis not any; Mr. Jones, one of the expelled Oxoniam, has just beenwith him, and called upon me last Saturday, as he returned to hiscuracy. Mr. FI·tcher show d him what he had wrote against mypamphl 'I, whi ·h ha' b . '11 r 'vi 'cl by Mr. John Wesley, and is tob publish d hortly, and boun I up I h ~ar "ilh anoth'r tract, whichhe has wrot again t hon '~l J hn Hunyan. Mr. Jones says, hecon iders and treats me as all Anlt'n01J1ian; but why should I resentit, whcn my master was so considered and treated by thc Pharisees,who called him a friend of publicans and sinners. I believe it is anhealthful thing for every author to have his head in the pillory,and the barnacles on his nose; it may help to chill his vanity, andmake him sick of scribbling. I seemed sick of my pamphlet be­fore, but my master knew my heart, and saw I was not, and he isnow sending me a puke, to make me cast it all up. Well, let mehave Jesus near lIly heart, and let the world take my reputation, itis not worth keeping. A inner I am, and a miserable one too,and the reputation of such a sinn r must be a miserable thing atbest; yet poor a' it i , we arc loth to part with it, till Jesus hooksit away from LIS. A fund of vanity is lodged ill the heart, and weperceive it not, tilllhe filthy pool is stirr d by some dabbling hand.A ~aviour of infillite compassion well becomes LIS: we IUlow nothow to bear with each other, and none but Jesus could bear withus at all. He is God, and therefore we are not consumed. ASmithfield fire would lInite the sheep, and fright the goats away:but when the world cease to persecute the flocks, they begin tofight acII other. Indeed, the worst part of a sheep is his head,which is not half so good as a calf's heau, and with lhis they arebutting at 'ach other, till lh' morning of the resurr clion," Juclahwill be vexing Ephraim, and Ephraim will be vexing Judah."Teach me Lord to become a child, and to have no part in this envyor vexation. I only add, what 1 have :abundant cause to add, theL nl bless you, alld ul1lte his upper springs with your nethersprin!js, 'nusing them to water well your own heart, and the heartsof all your f'allliJy. Grace and peace with you, and with yourmuch obligl'd : nd afT, 'ctionate servant,

JOHN BERRIDGE.

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

LET1FR VII.

My DEAR SIR,

217

E,·crlon, Nov. 10, 1773.

I owe you many thanks, and IlHUl prayers, and a letter beside;but the debts I olve my God an' without number, and a daily in­creasing sum, and exceedillgly h"illl)IH. ]',V rlasting thanks for asurety, whose blood is of ill:illill' "dill', allc\ who CUll save to theut~er~lost. 'fen years a~() I hlllwd to ht, sOlllt,thill T 10llg beforethIS time, and seemed ill a prollli~ill<r, ay to aniv' at perfectionbut a clearer "i 'woI' thl' piritu tI \I i k dill' . III lily heart, and ofthe slJiritual demand of (; HI's Jaw, h.1 fore ~d Ul' daily to ry, 0wretched man that I alll! God be Ill'rciful to m a si 11 lll.:r , I am1I0W sin~ing from a poor something into a vile nothing, and wish tobe notlung, that Christ may be all. I am creeping down the lad­der from self-complacence into self-abhorrence; and the more I doabhor myself, the more I must hate sin, which i5 the cause of thatabhorrence-a legal heart may strive against sin, through fear ofhell, or .strive against sin to glorify himself, as laying a foundationfor ment: but a gospel-hroken heart strives against sin through aloathin~ 01' it, a~ the fillhinss of his spirit, the image of the devil,and a 'onlradicti()1I to God's IlOlill('ss. From xprri ncc I knowth.r may be grace, when' lhl'r ' j, 110 flrcd sl'll'-abh IT ~Ilce, but itmust be ,rrac in th bud. lid ti 11 m '11 an' hI' ught, with J ob, tothis state of self-abhorrence, I b li 'v' th ir rif{hl 'ou 11' is merelypharisaical, a Dagon in the Lord's temple, a rival s t up againstJesus, and I am eonfiuent, where grace is, it will reign, and casttllis Dagon dOWll ; and thou <rh set up again, and yet again, willsurely break his legs and bOl~cs. At last God says, he will dwellwith a broken heart; but a heart cannot be broken where there isa sense of merit: it is only broken down by a sense and dread of.sin, or by a loathing of it. First we are made to dread past sin, onaccount of its guilt; alld as gTace thriveth, we are taught to loatheoursekes on accoullt of 0111' ~inful nature. And as the sinfulness ofthe heart i· lllon fdl, ,q~ ~r()l 11101" S('II ilJh' of its I' ·ma.illing de­filement: just a· wc ar(' IIlon' dl'ph'l (d wit h :l sillgh- spot on anew coat, than with a hlllHln'd t,llIl uo all old Ulll'. Th' morewicked men grow, Ih' I,s a hUlII'd tll 'om' of t1lcmsc\"es, and themore sin is felt, tbe 1110r(' tlH' ht'hen'l karll' to ,Ihhor himself. Youdesire me to becom> a fl"ll'lHlly lllollltor ; but am I qualifil"d fOt'the office; I seem to be '('nt f0rlh:l. a /I'prover in the gate, ratherthan a chamber-couns 'I, J Imvl' so 11IallY heams in .my own eyes,that 1 can scarcely sec, or find a h 'art to pluck a mote from a bro­ther's )'('. 'Vhat I 'an do, I will do; bllt r fancy you will provethe best Illollilor; alld I IlIu,t th,llIl 'ou for the hint you gave meabout my /0.1'(',1. Ot hn h'l\ ( ~ I' III the same hint; I thank themalso for th 'ir kllldll ,lIld l'ollf'.,s to you that I am growing si k

VOL, J1.- 0, 2 E

218 TIlE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

of my kennel, and intend to go no more a fux-hunting. .Alas r mydear Sir, yOll know the man and his communication; my pamphletand Illy I tters testify sufficiently that I was born with a foolscap onmy h 'ad; and the fuol is ready to show his cap, not only in a par­lour, but sometimes in a pulpit; for which he has had many drub.bings from his master, when he came down. But this is not theworst. Throogh mercy 1 know myself to be a fool, amI can la­III nt my folly to my friends; but my pride is such, that I do notlike the wodd should think Ol' call me what I call myself. In myfamily I now have a strong proof of the power of grace, my house­maid has been ill for many weeh of a fever and jaundice, andwhen she seemed near death, would cry out, " Lord, I am ready,I am coming, I am coming," her fever and jaundice are abated, butwe are now apprehensiye of a dropsy, she is feeble and faint, ands\;'ollcn, but m ·k and pati 'nt as a lamb. Oh, Sir, though OUl­

breath is in ollr nostrils, and 11" know not what an hour may bringforth, yet how faintly do 't 'rllal things am: ,t us, and h w little dowc live as on thc confines of death. The Lord brings 'ternity ncarerour minds, and Jesus nearer ullr hearts. May Gou bless you andyours ",ith covenant blessings, and nlHke you a truly royal family,even heirs of a crown that fadeth not away. Grace and peace bewith you, dear Sir, and with your much obliged and affectionate­servant,

JOHN BElUUDGE.---000---

To the Editm's uf tiLe Gospel llfagazine.A Ml l'iIKE CORRECTEl); on, TilE liE SON ,I SIGNEI> WilY. lIIANY

DISSE or FIlO I TIlE OllunClI.

"E~SH . EOITORS,

TII E S//t:1'bol'l/e AIr'I'cul!} of IOllllay last, gives an account of amcctillg of t he Bath and 'Vel!' Diocesan hurch As ociation atYcovil, on the 2'2nd inst., when a Mr. Gunning, to stimulate the" glorious cause," said, people were obliged for want of rool11* in

• The chnrch in this place has uever been tilleu but once for twent), )'earspast; and that was many years ago, when that venerable servant of JesusChrist, the late Rev. DR.llA W K E It preached within its walls ,-then, indeed,tlll're were many who" could not get into it! ,,' Dissenters and churchmen werethell IIIN luu-ether cordially ellluracillg the swne truth,. whi('h i a <l 'mon­stl ativ(' proof lllUt IIt· lad, of th' Trlle Gospet ill the dtun.:h, i • a rea.SOn v;hy.HIIlII) di" 'Ill flll/ll it. Dill the It 'v. Mr. Gunllill!;; 'Vl'r (l(·hold wdl a sight astlli~ III allY I'lrll'l' ",h"r" Ite has preaclted ?

" Beltohl a miral'le at last,\\'llielt few good l'('upl1' bCe' :

Tlte' desk allll 1J"lpit of onr .. I'llrch,That Sunday .Iid agrcc'.

Tltl')' spa ke onc language', I declare ~

A 1I1ira('\p IIldC'l'd!rul' "hat th(' l"lll'it sait! al'Qvf',

Tile balll(' 111(' lle'sk did rea(L.

atcchislll lhe clause readsIII 'll1bl~r of Christ, a child

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. 219the church to leave it, freq~ent other places of worship, and turnDissenters. They, (Mr. Gunning said,) dissented tbey knew notwherefore, and if asked to assign a reason, they could not give one,Now, this is not only a great Illiswkc, but it is a most invidiousslur upon hundreds of conscientions Dis: 'Ilters, "who have receivedn clll/nh education." I arn no egot ist, Sirs, yet to repel this charge,you will allow me to revert to 1JIy 071111 c.r-pen·ellee 1 was nursed inthe bosom of church, until I wus twcuty-hix years of age, and wasmost zealously attached to her 1I10t! • of worship, and particularly tot~]e clerglJ; for I verily thought il impm;sihic that any could benght and fit to teach but Ih 'S\' " rc("oj.!nizl:d alllba~~adors." And.I ~hould havc conliuu d in lily blind zcalliJl thc pr sel t hour, hadnot the LOIlD graciously opcllNlthe eljes IJl?7~1J ltmlel'stalltling, andgi.ven me to ,ec that the blilld were leodlllg tile hlind. Hereon Ileft the church, 1/ot " from wallt of room," but because I had dis­covered that what I heard from the PULPIT did not agree with thescriptures, nor with her doctrinal articles. Alas"! alas! the salllecause for dissent is stiil predominant, which was clearly manifestedby the manner in which Mr. Gunning's anti-scriptu ral sentimentswcre rcceivcd by " the Association," even when a reverend pre­Jail' "filled till' chair." ~ 'ntil1lcllIS frol1l which every enlightenedmind IIl1lht rI; SI'II/. Thi: p;t'lltkman, lik the great bulk of hiscll'liral brl'lhrcll, till' hip,h as wdl dl th' low substitutcs baptismfor regclll'ratioll, allll hvrd)y dmils lh' Spirit' work ill lhe plan ofre~cmption! The following arc M r. Gunning's notions 011 thispOIIlt.

" E\'ery person who had a regard for the soul of his child (said.the reverend speaker) brought him to church, and by the baptismalinstitution, made him a member of Christ, and an inheritor of thekingdom of heaven; that child, a'i it'grew up through the differentstages of life, from infancy to old agc, frequcntly had no opportu­nity of entering a church,-lived all his oays without God ill theworld, and dieu an Atheist because be had no opportunity of know­ing his God."

Now 'v 'ry body know' that in Ih,.thus, " III lily \WptlSlll -I was IlHlUe a

Uul shvuhl III '. 'I" v 1'1111 Ollt Ill;aill,Alld scold, /llld comc tv 1H'lllillg;

Trlle clltlrdllllCII (lholll;h al;aillst lheir will)lUusl e'en rcpai r lo mecting•

• fwas sillce the Stuarts past the Tweed,\Vith" right diville" to bless us, '

Irll/inilts (pest uf 'lIurcll alld slate)From plllpils dllr'u address us.

,\rrllillill. rail "h "V('l' Ilcad;AliI! CI\ I IN, gl'O" 11 ill years,

~I" I kt'''''' I"' ~"s~ioll Ill' i he desk,Hill (,Idlllll" all.s up slairs."

22'0 THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

of God," &c. However, to talk of being" MADE a member ofChrist" by baptl:51JI, either in infancy or at adult age, is quite un­scriptural; since there can be no addition nor diminution of the" m mbcrs" of Christ's 11~ystical body, any more than of his' corpo.Tal borb/; Psa. cxxxix. 15, If>; I Cor. xii. 12-27, for in eithercasc it was prepared, or fittedfor HIM before time began, Heb. x. 5.No man evt:J' yet lwted his ownjiesh, but llourisheth and cherishet/zit, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body,of Msflesh, and of his bones.

So also the idea of being" made a child of God by baptism,"is equally err6neous, Even the baptism of the HOLY GHOST,which is the emblem, does not " make men the children of God ,"but is the earnest and seal of their adoption; which is an act ofelectl'ng GRACE, and not a thing performed by the creature.

Moreov r, th person i', forsooth, an inheritor-an heir of thckingdom 0(' hcav n; )' 't, v n in the p 'se5sion of these great irn­muniti s, " he Lives aud dies fill iJ~/idt:L !!,'" This, it appears, is a" Tay oj tlu: lig/ll" which is shortly to illuminatc every corncr ofour isle, and to attract o:reat lllultitudcs; cl'en thosc who havc re­volted ,ire to be " brought back 1"

" Baptism and the Lord's Supper," according to the doctrine ofthese" recognized ambJ.ssadors," is all that is requisite to consti­tute a Christian; the former is the way into the church, and thelatter, if received, is the only safe way out of it. Thus they putthe shadow for the substance!

SheptonBeauchamp, Dec. 31,1836, J. R----

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REPLV TO OBSERVATIONS ON THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD.

WE havc lately received a letter ('ram a correspondent who signsfrom Portsmouth, " On the Person of' Christ," it i acute pain forus ~o observe, that he is building for ctcrnal lifc on a foundation,which will not support him, when the tempcst rise, and the windshowl.

He lays down a r.osition, and asserts, that " The doctrine oj'theEtel'nal generation if tlte Son of God, is not only erroneous, but dlln­~erous," and arrogantly asks, " Is the Omnipotent God begotten ?"Here this inquirer, of whom we should have thought better things,appcars to us, to rank with B uman Prc-cxistcrians, and Sabellians,so a to d ny, tllat th Son of Go I, existed ('1'0111 alll'tel'ni(lj, andthat h' i~ 0(' the nature, and essence, and one with the Father.Now, as lhl' I'ath 'I' is eternal, thc SOli Blust be ternal, and as theIloly Spirit proct'C'ds ('ram both, he also mn t be eternal; but then,th r ar Ilot thr' C'lcrllals, but O,le eternal, neither is one before,or af'ter anoth 'r. lid bc it evcr kept in remembrance, belovcdreadcr, it will guard you ('rom bcing corrupted with the hercsies soprevalent at th rre~ 'Ilt till) ,that, when Jesus is called the Son ofGod, it is in refercnce to his divinity; and when spokcll of' as tbe

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE 221Son of Man, it is with respect to his humanity. Not a begottenSon, as this correspondent says, in his complex character, but asthe Eternal co-equal Son of thc Fath 1', without humanity, begottenbefore all worlds.

This is our darling su~iect, alld 11'(' ould dwell on it for ever,namely, " That the divine 1'elation, is, a~ eternal as the essence."And that when the Son of God i~ 'alled the only begotten Sonof the Father, the relation ari'l's from t h ' Godhead, as it cloth amongmen. And that the SOil IS a~ tl'ul Ih(' hegotten on of the Father,with the WHOLE natul'l', alld l', ('11('(' of tbl' Father communicatedto him, a Jsaac wa~ th(' SOil of 1\\)r,lIlalll, "itb tll(' wholcnatur'anuessence of Abrabam COllllnl' 11 icall'd to biIll. Thi: is Ihe corner­stone or onr buildillg which God has laid in Zion, when he ,said,"Thou art my SOil, this day, that is, in eternity have I begottenthee."

But then, be it observed, we are not to conceive of Divine Ge­neration, as we do of human, The gross literal se se must be laidaside, the reality of the fact is, only asserted, the manner is not tobe comprehended, but only understood according to analogy, yetsuitable to the" incomprehensible" ssellce of the Divine nature,which is Eternal and One. Let it hI' consid 'red, alld de 'ply re­flected on, that as Ill' U(I1IL(' alld (,t17'ilJ1ltl',~ of the One God, arcascribetl with lit limitation tn till' Son, l','cn as they arC' to theFather, and that they arc plain lJOsitive ass 'niolls of scripture; sothat in declari ng the eternity of the .son, declare also the realityand eternity of the relation. This is our grand article of faith, thegreat mystery of godliness, bounds to which are prefixetl, which wccannot pass. And is this to be wondered at? for we have no ideasof spiritual beings, no, not so much as of our own spirits, but bywhat passes within us, "Therefore, when Christ says, I and myFather are one, the signification is, the unity of essence, and thediver!.ity of relation, must consequently be eternal. He was equalwith the Father as to his Divine natllre, ami inferior as to hishuman nature.

This is a suhjcc of (',,('rI,\ till'" IIllpnrtatl('(', 1I0r do Wl' ],llOW howto leave it, <In{!;\'ls dl' In' to PI) tllllI it, alld :tn'ln t In till' unfatholll­able abyss, and if Wl' In t('h 0111' utilI!. t I' aSOI1, \\c shall find thesubject, beyond all tholl"'hl 10 C'OIH'('i"l' or I\'ords to express. Be­hold, God is great, and 11 c I nOlI hUll llol, neither can the num­ber of his years be searc hud, \i\ hl'n wc speak of him it can onlybe by analo~'y, by bOlT wed and 511hsl il tlted language, taken fromcreated bcillgs. The Ijoly ~pirit a/:,o takes thp-language of men,borrowl'lh their worus, and consccratl's and applieth them to God.So when il is said, " The only bl'gollCI1 Son of the Father, who layin thebosol\lof tb Father, IIl'!'l' Ihewhole stock of our ideasfail, und a.1I our II1(mh'd~c' O!' till' bc'gotten Son, and the bosom ofthe Father, n',ls ill 0\11' l'nSl'S, Begotten anti bosom, arc onlywords, by way of a ~c()ll\tllOdat 11111 to our capacities, Faint shadow

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and distant representations of an eternal and incomprellensible beingwho is without either body or parts.

\Vc shall conclude this paper by observing, that since it has,pi a, d God with regard to his own essence and attributes to revealhim' ,If in a language, under symbols, and representations borrowedfrom men, let us interpret whatever is revealed cOlacerning theDivine nature, in a way most consistent to his most pure and in­comprehensible essence. To represent the sovereign self-existentMind, as having such qualities and modifications as ours, would I)erash. Our reason cannot determine the modus of the existence ofthe ilwisible Deity. And as we lately remarked, we have no sortof idea of the sub~tance of the soul, which acts in us, or of the man­ner of its existence 01' actions, what presumption must it be in us,to pr tend to det rmine from our conceptions, or rather inauilityto concl'iv ' the 'ondition r manner of existence of the Supreme13 in~, th ' ka~t of \\ ho.,l' works, al" in very deed heyond Qllr com­pr hell ,ion.

When th sniptur s speal, of od, that h fills all things, wespeak then but imperfectly, anu do really cOlllill' him, who hath nodilllensions, for bea\'en and the heaven of heavens cannot containhim, for space and place must.. be finite. li is eternity and omni­presence, swallow up amI confound our understanding-the largeststretches of our thol.ghts cannot comprehend tbem. Behold, Godis ~reat, says Elibu, and we know him not, neither can the numberof his years be scarched out. Who can find out the Almighty toperfection?

Lct us not, therefore mca,ure od by OllfS Ives, or :.tttempt toexplain what is incolllpr'h nsiblc, or to argue upon the Eternalgelll'fati n of the SOli of 70d UpOIl human principles. It is enoughfor u· to know, thatTIII"(~e Diville P'r,on ofeqnal powerancl glorysubsist in onc Eternal and ndivid 'd Es, 'nee. llerc is a firm basisto rest our faith upon, whiJ we I' 'fleet 011 the immeasurable differ­ence there is between the narrowness of thc hUll1an unuerst'lnding,and the immensity of the Divine. \Vellmight our poct exclaimwith astonishment, and call upon men and babes to adore the won­drous greatness, that,

God's ET ERN A L So N sholllJ bear,To take a mortal form,

Ma<!e lower tllan his angels wereTo ,aye a dying worm.

Soon, h '10\' 'd l' ader, the "ail will be removC'd, alld wc shall see110 IOIlg- I' throl1g"h a glass darkly. \Ve 1I0W know bll,t in part.,' then\le shall kllOw \\ hen \I'C shall scc him as he is,-the Eternal ~on ofthe Fath 'r. The night will not long last, the morning is swift ap­pr achillg, when we . h,dl fully appreciate this mystery of godliness.How \' '1', I)('ill~! In the ark, and knowing OUt· pilot, aJl is well, andwhcn the Lord 'nlls to sail, we shall launch in safety to the desireJhaven.

London, April 21, 1 37. THE EDITORS.

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. 223

JACOn'S TROUBLE, AND III ALVATION THEREFROlll.

"Alas! for that day is great, so thal /1011 i lik> it; it is even the time ofJacob's trouble; but be shall be sav'l\ oul of il." JElL 30, 7.

COURTEOUS READER,

AND what think you, is thi "'I' 'nt day, f which th prophet herespeaketh? Surely ther i lion> Ilkt It; a <la of sorrow, of trialand deep affliction. That day, III whirh Ih' just judgments ofJehovah, the vial fill d With tht' \ 11I111 of 11I1I~hty d, was tobe poured out upon Ih - h 'l\(( of ,I '.\1 , till' ('hull'h' ,ur ty. Thatday in which .Je'\I wa t l> >pU1I1 h -d I r th' III f hi P>opl',whell the Lord laid UpOIl hllll th iniquitiell of U' all.

Solemn, must have been the feelings of the disciplell, as theypassecl with their adorable Lord over the brook Cedron; and notless solemn, when before the)' left the chamber, in which they hadbeen keeping the passover, and, in which Jesus had institutedthat sacred supper, commonly called the Lord's supper, in tokenof his own sufferings and death, or e'er he hallded them the cup,he gave thanks unto his hellY nly Fath r. Think on this poorsinn'r ; Jesus gave dlO\11k for 'our salvation, at the vcry momenthis suJr'ring', on aecoullt lIa'n'of II ('IT "IHllll" hilll ill th - fa' .

or I- 's soll'llIl1, 'ollld lht'ir fel'hll~" Illn - beell, wla I1 e' 'r th yllroce ded to Gelbselllllnc' gard -11, thv)' all Sling a son~ of prai'in honour of Jesus, for that salvation, he was th n going to ac­complish.

But when in Gethsemane's garden, the heavy curses of divinejustice rushes like a mighty torrent, an overwhelming flood, intohis spotless soul, their earthly constitutioils could no longer bearIIp ulIdcr the weight of that glory, the solemn grandeur of hisGodhead, which then did fill tbe place. Jesus, bore, all the wrathof Almighty God alone, anel of the people there were nOlle withhim. 1f the disciples were filled with di'lIla' ;-if horror 5ciz cltheir oul, as III y '\w JeslI led !>Ollld unto .illdllllll'lIt; \11,11kuo\Vin~ th in ull h( \\Illtlcl 1t'('C I\C' fllllll 111111, till' "lluft,;illgShe would uudl'lgo ;-tl thl" fill Ill' hllll, 1I I I\. d. tlllollgh theunmanly I 'Hor of thl'lI hI III , \ .11 "" III t!l Illnollliniousand cruel death It> !lollld till, " " IIIl ollly the di ciples,but all nature quakl'd, 11 11 cl \ 11 "'"\111 I cl to its ,'er)' centre, atthe accllmulat d di~tn'" 01' ,It 11 • 0111, thc I1 whatl1lust have beenthose slIlr'rin,g to J 'SII 111111 ,If. I . Dill, thon art Jost inthe l!lolll.!,hl ! it (ills thl" wllh alll,lll ""'Ill l it strikes thee withsol '1111111 I 1Ic1.'it I hl'~, (cl It' (;l,d, I1 Ilm those very suffcrings.flow till '" I~ d,l, /IlV, IIlll 1'\1'" \ 1111' ,"ory.

Tb totl. I 1,1t >\1111 11" 1'11111 I, Vd're highly reYe}'enced, andest 01.1 It 11 I.' d 1.111 cl, .'l't the Father's presence wa.withdrll\ \I 1111. IlllIlllIg' lhe heavy load had to t'1Ic!lIrrthe hicllll , III I IIII~ ('ountenance; and more than, 11

221. TIlE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

this, he had to endure the frowns of his wrath. For, it pleasedthe Father to bruise him, ancl put him to shame. The frowns ofhis Father's wrath, as the administrator (If justice, charging hometh sins of the elect upon the head of Christ overwhelmed theheart of the lovely Lamb of God; our sins filled his soul withsorrow. Yea, the sorrows of death compas ed him, ancl thefloods of ungodly men made him afraid. And therefbse in an ac­ceptable time, he cried unto his heavenly Father: " save me, 0God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. r sink in deepmire, where there is no standing; I am come into deep waters,where the floods overflow me." "My God! my God! why hasttholl forsaken me?" How conspicuous hath the Holy Spiritmade it herein to appear, that noth.ing but the eternal divinity ofJesus, sustained him in the great day of trouble. And nothingshort of his own Almighty power and Godhead, would have done,either to stamp a vlllue 01) his sacrific , or tf) upport him in thetrYJOg moment. Had J sU' lIot b ('n God, a' well a man, heIllust have sunk under the w ight of his peoplc's sins; and weshould then have been buried in eternal ruin. But eternal thanksun to a sacred three one J ehovah, Jesus is God as well as man;he did accomplish all he came to perform, he did overcome everyfoe; he did give full satisfaction to divine justice, and we areeternally saved. '

Jesus is frequently called, Jacob, in the old testament prophe­cies, to set forth his great humiliation in the days of his flesh; tosbew the life of degradation and suffering he should lead, as wellas the degrading death hc should dic; but he is also called Israel;a princ that prevails with God and man. And the event showeth,how well Jesus deserve' th is nam . of h'ael; for he did prevail;even a au I' tex t declareth r 'I~ti v to the heavy sorrows by 'w hichhe did prevail. "lIe shall be saved out of it" or as the scrip­tures saith in another place, and which, is somewhat explanatoryof this: "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall besatisfied;" Jesus, saw of the travail of his soul, as he hung uponthe cross, in the person of the dying malefactor; he saw, Uli hehung upon the cross, the travail of his soul, beholding, as he thendid, the ransomed throngs in glory; and as he hung upon thecross, he saw of the travail of his soul, in looking forward to the

nd of time, and beholding, the certain salvation, through hisblood, and sufferings of all his elect. J~Sl1S contemplated yoursalvation and mine, christian reader, and this gave him satisfac­tion; and IInAinchingly he went through all his sufferings forour s,lk ,alld trod the wine press of God's wrath alone. Andhe wa' ,'IV d III of it, for when he hud endured all; he cried:"Fath I' into thy hands I commend my spirit" and yielded uphis life a ransom for our iniquities. The sacrifice was approved,his heaveuly Father received him to glory,-the veil of the tem­ple was rent in twain,-and a way opened up into the holy of

225of bliss, for

THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

holies,-to the mercy seat,-ycll, to the mansionsevery poor coming sinner.

And here let it be bome in mind, that Ihere is the greatest con·solation to he drawn from Ih fact r.1 JSus overwhelming suffer­ings ancl hi5 deliverance th r frolll. But Ihe poor sinner whenhis sins arc first charged hom . UPOII hi 'Oil 'ienee, is so apt toconsider, the great day of II lti('h 1111 ·l'IlIlIur sI' aketh, the timeof Jacol>'s trouble, is, wh'lI he, poor III lit r, i' ready to ink, ex­pecting to be sw pt away 10 ,\ 'mal cloom for hi numeroustransgressions: h ,1I0t 11 \'t, h\'III' hh'h ,cl by (,ocl th HolyGhost, with a faith' vi'w 'lt 'hrl81 a; Ill' 1 '(k'IIH'f. lid 11 tllll ,all the while burr,tiller hi sonl, with il u~g '\lOll , urgin tT himto despair, b 'Iicvill~ ud, the ju,t judg of all to bc hi enemy,ready 10 cut hilll off, and hurl him to etenwl misery. This somehave l;alled the lime of Jacob's trouble. And many have evengUile so far as to boast of this, which, they call, deep soul travail;and to consider their christianity great, according to the great­ness of their unbelief, or the breaking forth of their rebellionagainst God. And this, with even God's own family too, oftenpasses for travail of soul: yCl, all thcy all cv r bring forth frol11Ih ir OWII rcl) Ilion and ullb,li r is lIli~('I')', and d J pair. But,learn poor :,inll r~, illcrl'a~ your ,orrolV~ a~ you ma, r Illlr'eyour "rinllnb 'her, or t1l1l1k yoursell' an obj('cl ()r pity; 'ou maybe in soul travail ; or you lIlay h, lik' 1 a 'h ,I w' 'ping for h rchildren, mourning alld weeping, anti rcfu ing tu b comfortetl;but weep and mourn, and surrow as you will, y ,t your case is notso desperate, as to be beyond the reach of God's mercy. Thereis abundance of salvation in Jesus. Remember, our Lord Jesus,in bearing your sins, was saved out of his trouble; much morethen shall you be saved, now your sins are for ever p'ut away. Ifyou take tbe one part of this sweet portion of scripture; " Alas!for thal day is gr(,ilt, so that none i' like it, it is even the time ofJacob's lrouble." If you takf' this, alld ° tenaciously maintainthat it npplies 10 )'our, (,If, IIhy nj ·('t thc' other r "11 shall besav cl OUl uf il." \ h· hurl 'our lallc!\'rOII 11I'\'('h '. at Iho ewho have rrc '11','d of tI ;11 HI ,IIIOll, ('allill ( tlll'lll pr' Ull1ptUOIIS.Salvation, is tit 'Ulll, and 1111 11111('(' of all 1('ligIOIl. And thatreligion whieh hath 1I0t CllIl.l, alld hi all'ation fur its sole sup.port, wiJJ not stand ill tlH~ hOllr t cl 'alh ; h;willg no solid faun­

'dation it will sink, and Sink its victim wilh it to eternal ruin.The sorrows of Ihe wllOl 'hllr'h put together are absolutely

nothing", when put in eomparison 1\ IIh Christ's sorrows. Yea,and ifyuu IHlve deep sorrol\' Ihrough (;onvit.:tiorts of sin, is is ell­tirely Oul or love to your never d illg soul, and in order that youmay ta t of the.io· or. :11\':111011. Thou shalt indeed be bap.tized illto t h ' d 'HI h of '1111 I. nud t he Holy Ghust hath pledgedhimself to thl" 111 lilt, (:uulI('d' of clcmity. You shall Jet see all

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your tran g;rc.: ions for ever put away by Christ's death; youshall, by pr 'cious fai th, SEe sin cruci ticd in the flesh of Jesus onthe cro ; you shall behold the Lion of the Iribe of Judah over­cowing 'atan that crooked serpent, and conquering, the other­\Vi 'all conquering ueath; andyou shall feel the powerofChrist'sr'surreetion in your soul; and you shall, through triumphantgrace bold on unto the end, and have Christ to warm your heart,while falling into the chilly arms of death; and then, as a sweetconclusion to the whole, be received into glol'1J. Oh! gloriousresult of all Jesus's sorrows! Oh! blessed end of all IJis suffer­ings! He gave his life a ransom that I may Jive eternally withhim-and have what sorrows I may, I huve this consolation;I shall be saved out of it. Amen,

Denmark Hill, March 24th, 1837. JOHN RAMSEY.

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'1'0 the Editol's (if'llte Gospel .lIJagazlllc.

REMAIlI, ON TilE BU')'L".. UNION.

"lUagnu fama qllod nihil C5t, csse facit."

DEAR SIUS,

I HAVE lately perused the first annual letter, from the pastorsand representatives of the Baptist Union, assembled..in London,June 20, 21, 22, and 24; 1836. addressed to the churches andassociations they represent." "Vritlen by the Rev. B. Godwin,and unanimously adopted at a meeting held in Sulter's HallChapel, on Monday Evening, Junc 20, The ltev. C E. Birt,A. a'. of Port ea, in th 'haIr; at which meeting thirty-fourminist rs and rcpresenlati\" IH'r' recorded as present.

The H.ev. B. odwin as the orncle of this reverend assemblyin his letter to lh churchc: COlJllll nee' by regr ltiug that solittle intercourse has been had with each oth r in the BaptistChurches, and attributes the want of Sllcce s in their operations,for the most part, to the detached and insulated position occupiedby divers sections of the Baptist body, and ask if these thIngshave not obstructed those combined efforts which the presentcircumstances of the church and the world render so necessary."

" Receiving the scriptures," he continues, " as onr only rule offaith and practice, and adopting the right of private jud~ment intheir interprctation, we not only arc constrained to dilFer froOlth 'hurch government of some of our brethren, and the doc­t/inal vi 'IV of others, but feel ourselve bound by the dictates ofcon'cit'nc' to make a stand for the iniating ordinance of chris­tianity." And th Rev'. Gentlbman goes 011 to ask, " whatshould pr vent th free and friendly intercourse, the interchangeof ministcrial s 'rVII'C", and the readiness to unite for anv C:Olll11l0nobject with any or \I itlt all the followers of Christ?" \Vhy mostnoble reverend and learned Doctors of Divinity and Masters of

THE GOSPEl.. MAGAZINE. 227Arts, composing the CO~11lnillc,c of thc Baptist Union, w; yo.urhumble servants, the wnters of "H'.l 1l'lIlal ks upon your BaptistUnion are Baptists ex allimo, and \I' cri't' )OU the tw· et qll?re,why a fr e ?Inl friendly interlO\11 I', alld illlcrchange of servicescannot be cc(led to JOU by 11-,1'1011\ y"lll 01\11 letter. Venerable.DoctOL, you write in )0111' Illtl'l, 01 Iht' g-reat instrument atregenerati ng I he world ," 1hal, ".dl I hilt i to b' dune in tbe con­version of the world·-and hcm 11l11t'1I I \1 I 10 b done.-Is to beeffected bv the in trunH'ntalll,' or Ih . /1'\ iour' 10110\\ rs,

You asl:, " \VllO is bO l)clOl, 0 oh ('\111', f) pOll dc", as to beunable to contnbllll' a (. Ilalll hlll( of 1IIIIIIl'n(' toward' efrectingthe re~werfltioll of lh' world?" ) (HIli nu', "11' all in ollr con­gregation 11110 po' ess p cuniary 1l1Can , had but the heart tomake the sacrifices which those cases demand, how many morelabourers might be sent to tbe fields which are" white already 10

harvest." In Ihe first place, wonhy Doctors and Masters lIewould prevent your entrance illto our pulpits and among our as­semblies with just the same abhorrence as tbat which prompted

, the Holy Patriarch to exclaim agaills t his sons, "O! my SOld,

come not thou into their s er I; unto their <lssembly mine llOnourbe 11 I ullited;" for ill 0111 anger. (11\ crucify the Son of God.afr sh and ill !llll .l·11' will you alt< III pt to dig dOWIl the wall ofGod's vin ) ard 10 I 't ill Ih' \\IId Ill'asl 10 I1 ast it. Gen. 49.Psi. 80. You prophesy li sand IlghtlH'ss 111 the name of ourGod, as the Lord said by Jeremiah, so it may be said of you,"the prophets prophesy lies in my name; I sent them not,neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them; Iheyprophe"y to YQu a false vision and divination, and a thing ofnought, and the deceit of their head." Jer. xiv. 14. Wc h\lvesaid, yOIl crucify the Son of God afresh, and in effect you do soevery time you preach, write or print of' regenerating the world,'and" evangelizing the world." Aud you put him to open shame,inasmuch as you a sert ther' arc' mallY in hell for whom he shedhis blood, and that the blood of elmst \Ia. uo avail to su 'h, be­cau hri I kllock 'd at lilt door of th('11 h 'arts illtr ating ofth III for y nI'S, lU a 'Cl'pt III ofrt,lt'd .. 1\'/lIIl/U, IlIId that Ihe lIolySpirit wre tIed with th 'Ill UIIIII Ill' I)('('alu' lJu 'lIch d, and their"day of grace" ended. ow 1l10~1 W( I,hipful Vuctors, Mastersof Arts, by these present lI'e ill 1'0 rill you tltaL whenever or where­ever you assert that Christ died to .Itv(· nil men for ever from theconsequences of sin, without distinlYuishing Judas from Peter, onethief 1'1'0111 the other, in the merit' of that death, there, by thesepresent wc denounce you as th' prophets of lying vanities, andthis is our first reason why a free and friendly intercourse and in­terchangl of IIllllisterial servje~, cannot take place between us.

In the s . lid place according to your account, it is indispensablynecessary Ihnl IIIIIII~lers of tru I h should be at thei r posts, not 11' itll" a vacillatiu: ludecision, or lukewarm indiffereuce 10 what they

228 TilE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

profess to regard as truth," but with .' a vigorous and persevering'atlem pt to su bserve the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom."And if wc did believe as you profe~s to do, that the world may beregenerated by human exertions, we shoulcl recommend the Rev.F. A. Cox, D. D., L. L. D. of Hackney, with his great abilitiesand zeal, to apply his shoulder to the wheel at Hackney first,and not stir from the work until he had regenerated that littleslice of the world. He should not stir from the work until com­pleted, he should have no holiday' to take a swim across theAtlantic, no not even if they would make his name as long againas it is, there he should abide until regeneration covered Hackneyas the snow has lately covered the fields, and surely this is a smallpiece of 1V0rk for so great a labourer, and so great a name,· andif assistance were needed, ample supplies mi!!ht be had out of thethrrc ;llmdrul and I'/f[htlj olle III mbers of the worthy Doctor'schurch; lIlor ov('r, th ' t: '\'('1 nd .J. I Job, n. D. of 13irmingham,should have a imilar task a,si'n cl to him fur that manufacturingtown; let them not oe afraid of XCillllg the envy of their bre­thren across the Atlantic uy so doing.

" Veo dallte, lIihilllocet illvillia."Worthy Doctors, to your work,like men who know that the nightcometh wherein no lIlan can work, sit not, we charge )'ou in thesight of God, in your easy chairs, before tables groaning underthe weight of the luxuries of an effeminate world, neither faintbecause you are not many enough to regenewte the whole world,Lut begin a little at the time, regenerate Jlackney and Binning­ham first, nay, regenerate one allty full of the vile back settle­ments of thos' places, rc'Y n 'ral ' lHlt one notorious sinner a-piece,snrely this is not rf'ql1iril1~ too Illuch from such able ministers,aud withal so dignili -d anrllaboriou., for

.. 'Olll Ilpis me! c "'kit,'·Then, nnd not till tllen, can we think of ~ranting a free andfriendly intercourse of ministerial services; but when this is donehow proud shall we be to receive with open arms and pulpits,/lye, and though last not least with open pockets too, the Hono­rable and Heverend COlllmittee of the Baptist Union.

Thirdly, We do not like your continued applications for money.'Vhat a rare thing it is to travel si:t'/IJ miles in this country withoutfallin'" il to the company of some very dark looking lllan with hishat ti 'cl on with a broad ribbon if it be windy weather, or with ahandk 'rchi '1' III -kcd up in thc frotH of it if it be hot weather, arat her \\(H ('. for I he- wear UIll brella, and a rather better lookinggre;lt·('ollt wilh a pr luberance on his left breast, whence peepsoUI, if his ('(lnt b(' unbottoned a certain well thumbed (was once)red covcr'd book, which has a case in it with some dozen minis­terial I' ('OIUIll '1Idation' appended to it. We think it is calledthe voluntary SYSI 'Ill upon which they travel. O! what a .igluthis would hav' be n ill Jcru al III in the days of Christ; Peter,

TIlE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. 2Z9James and John tramping about the country with old parch­ments, to set down subscriptions upon, for new Meeting-houses.We do not like these gypsy-par on nor their beggarly -employ­ment , especially as we 'are in po e ion of certain facts con­nected with their home mis ion, widl one or which we will closeIhi third particular.

at all hundred miles frolllpiou body of Dis ent r', whoround the country with 1\ ca,l', to b r or th pious and well in­clined public, 'ontribnli"n to\ nrd (l ·h:'\><.:1 which had costtwo thousand. two hUIlI/,'rd pound in 1I1l' 'r' ·tion, th publiclib 'rally uh 'rib cl, Hlld tht 1\ 'Ill lib -rally I' turn -d thanks, wew('r- III lhi C1111 Jll,l (lULC]V not many months ago, a ubstantialIV 11 buill, roomy pia", with three galleries, iron pillars &.c. butit wa und 'rgoing repairs, and seeing some manufacturing goodsther in, we were curious 10 inquire into the cause, we were in­form d that the pious folks of the chapel had sold it for sevenIWlll/r('({ pound' 10 ome per-on or persons, under a bond not to\l l' it Hny mort for a pia . of worship, and now they were con­

.tlll' 1111 'lwd, uh talllinl huilt ('hapel that would last forr 1111 I 11. 11,,1 1'1111 rill I h.lir • III d and sofa, The pious

11 t I I 1111 111111 h /111 '11111 /n lht 10WII, and long-III I I III 1 III I III 11111111, dUll 11 '1,.;11110111, In l\ • pI IIdidC'llllpl I, IlIt Ill' hlllll 'Ill It I hI' l~O 01')11/1,. tllllu (/Tld pound, w 'recl ,t 'rill III 'd to quu It Ih ' old Oll • all If ,tll -(" as a pr aching shop,fur v I' and for ay .

! Spirit of John Wesley, as ist my feeble pen to write theprai" of these honest, pious, ancl zealous men, who are everlast-:.1n,Iy xclaiming more chapels, more conversions, more funds,who like the horse-leech's daughter, or save the mark, like thineown descendants, are always crying, "a deputation will attendfrom Ihe parent society." Doctur Dedimus Dunderhead willtake the chair precisely at six." "Some New Zealanders willappear in the costUI11 of their native country," or" some of thelJeath n od~ will b xhibit d." Blit invariably" a coil ctionwill be lIlad aft'r 'lteh S -rvie' lu aid th· 'au~c," O! aid me totell the prais of tho - III '11 who 'an hav' th> fac to go roundagain to the public to b 'g mon'y f r a f01l1' thousand poundschapel, when lhe publi' had already paid t~t'O thousand pounds forone that would have lasted them half a century to come, butwhich they sold, not for a chapel, but to keep religion in as smalla compass as possible, tbey sold th 'ir good'substantial chapel,dirt cheap, to make a chair manufactory of it. Well may ourworthy minister and representatives write, "we would affec­tionately ug . t th' prupri t' of every church situated in a po­pulous di tri 't (th abov mClltioned chapels are situated in adaily increasin, n ighuollrhood, and one is five minutes walkfrom the other) providing itself if possible, in addition to lilt"

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2::l0 TilE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

pastorate, \\'lln all evangelist or town missionary; one whoseespecial object shall be to preach the gospel from house to house,to vi it th> crowded streets and lanes \\ ilb tracts to give or lend,to inquire kindly into the state of their illhabitants, and to recom­llH?ncl thci,' attendance at some place of \\'orship," (say the chairmanufactory) "where the gospel of our sah'ation is procfaimed."") , , most worshipful Doctors of Arls, we may \\ ell cry morechapels, more money, when what the public has sulJ:;cribed hasbeen so ill-applied, not only in tbe above instance, but in manyother cases which may some day see the light. Until we seesome of the things herein exposed remedied, and at least yourown districts regenerated, most worthy, venerable and learnedCommittee of the Baptist Union, we decline listening to yourovertures.

Signed Oil behalf of the SpirituallyIlitull ''l'ti~t ofGI(:at Britain,

From tllli,. COII/II/iller: Room, A BA PTIST.Ob.lCI'dltt'VIl Ro:,'.

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.\ LETTER OF JOHN BERRIDOE.

1'0 the Editors of the Gospel Magazine.DEAR SIRS,

KNOWING your attachment to the name and writing of that dearman of God, Mr. John Berridge, \\ hose memory to me is dear,al'o r"'joicing in the !>wect silllpltcity of gospel truths, (,0 rare inthe present (hy) as preached and puhlished by him, and having- anoriginal !etl'l' of his, \\ ritl '11 it short time hefore his death to theLady [J unlingdon, a COPy I' which I hel-\' to hand you, and youwill find it to contain {!:ood old-fashioned truth '. If yOll think wellto publish it in your truly valuable l\1agazin , it is at your service.I am, my dear Sirs, yours respectfully,

W. C RISTMAS.P. 8.-1 have copied it verbatim.

Brentford, April 19, 1837..Tabernacle, Feb. 25, 1790.

Dear and Elect Lady,ELE TED of God, and preserved in life for noble purposes. Akingdom is pr 'pared for you. The dear Redeemer" purchase, andyou giv him all the <Tlory, else 1 could pay you no honour; I'eli­~iou' thi 'v's wh labour much to enrich themselves, and steal theLord's rOWIl, are the worst of villains, and will receive a suitablet1oom. Plenty of woes arc denounced agai nst self-righteous souls,esteemed of III n, but abhorred of God. Thanks to my Lord, Hemakes me ~ro\V Illon poor and blind, and helpless, and guilty, anuloathsome in lily own 'y 's; no where ean ( hide my vile head, butat his dear feet, and sO ridl is his mercy, so sweet his complexion,

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THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE. 231he cannot thrust a self-condemned wretch away. Indeed, I do lovehim, for what He has taught me, and can do 'little else but prattleof Him in a pulpit, yet in such feeble accents, as make me loathmy:clf, \Vell, I try and try again, but always come away ashamed.Living tongues are dumb at be.t, WI' nlllst die to speak of Jesus.'Vhen we see Him face to face, lh heart will be duly warmed, andthe tongue enlarged to she\\' forth II is praise. H re we vie\v Himdarkly through the glass of faith, and ,dwn Il ril' s :t flourish ofhimself, it is only through a laUict" but \I h n we \'i IV him, as Heis, we shall learn to ing and prais' in \llor' b" l1Iing 'tra,ins, butalways far beneath his di ynity and I orth ! ! !

Gracc and p acc "ilh ' u, ami I Ilh your an', tiomll' ,('I'\'ant,JOllN 13ERRJDGE.

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AN ADDRESS '1'0 'I'[~E EDITORS OF THE GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

MESSRS. EDITOllS,

GRACE, Merey, and Peace be with you at all times, and under allcircumstances.

We read the announcement to your corrcspondents of the prof­fered services of sonic who h'ld ('Olllll for",ar I, !oincc your beatingup for voJlllltcns; this mall,'r has bt'('11 an ,m.l'/oll,- 1'01/('('1'11 on theminds of 'OIllC al1lon~ us who han' till' wl,ll'ar(' or Zlon at hl'art, andwe doubt not but that wilh ,'ollrsl'lf it has bc('n pre-Illincntly so,inasmuch as we arc aware of the dilJiwlil1 of finding thoe who are(in all respects) qualified for so in~porta;lt a post Cl~ that of Editorto such a relip;ions publication as the Gospel l\lagazine.

",Ve trust that none of those who have thus offered themselves areinlluenced by all.!! other motive than the glory of Jehovah, and theespecial good of his elect family. We say this much, because wearc aware that there are certain inducements which might prompt

VCII the bestof men (arising from the remaining corruption withinand which all aI" subject too) s,lch a~ the ral'Olll' of a lIal,ticula}'pal'I.!!. Till' advancl'nll'lIt and 1'.'ll'lhion of certain ('1"(' -lis, Ill\' dis­play of abtlilil' ,and thl hOIOllt or Ih,' ollill', l C'. 11 hil'h so Ill'Iilll 'S

influellcl' 1I1l'II tll (l!'t' Sill hIp, I itholll oil Ill' thl' sul,jl' 't thatportion of dl"'p (Olhld.'r.ttioll wllil'h it ,I;III11S. l\lIothn lhing isthe fogs and Ill'trshc:, and ,11, loll tIL I!l J!(Jl'l1L'$ you havc wisely ab­stained from, which are apt to cn~ross too much of our attentionand to bias our minds to an llllwarr:,ntab I' extent-this princip!eappears particularly prcvalent in Ollt' day, which renders tbe clloieeof 1IIllil'iduals a matter of lIluch greater moment than is generallyconct'il cd. Nevertheless, wc trust that tbe friends of the GospelMagazill(', Ilho are spiritually taught, have not been remiss in car­rying lhis l1t:ltl r to cOllrl, and petitioning the king of kings to di­rect you in tltis lIlatll I' for III~ 0\ 11 praise, and his church's comforland edification. I Ier" li,'s 1I1\11'h of our encouragement, for Cc)(1hath said, " for all tlte-I: lhings will r be enquired of, &c." " by

THE GOSPEL l'tL\GAZINE.

supplication'; let your requests be made known unto232

'prayer and·Him.

It is well known that the Gospel Mag-azine has long stood pre­eminent for the extension of the saving truths of a free grace gospt:!,and that many of the flock of Christ have been nourished and fedby the wholesome doctrine which it has long maintained and setforth;notwithstanding the efforts of PROFES~'JOR,<:,as well as pro­fane, to vilify and set it nought. The unworthy writer is a livingwitness among many who have received both edification and eorn­.fort from its manifold testimonies~ and we pray that the l<'AITHFUDHERADD may continue to prove a blessing to the Lord's poortempted and tried people by the display 9f those salutary truths 011

which they are enabled to feed in all their native simplicity.On this accoupt, therefore, we anxiously look for those who are

well acquainted with the temptations to which the Lord's peoplearc subject, wholly disinter st d, possessed with sound discriminat­ing jud rments, and of ,a forb ariug' ,pirit, whose only aim will betbc hOllor if God and the good of his pwplc', and sueh who esteemthe reproach of Christ to be greater than the treasures of Egypt;doubtless if they are faithful to God, to trutb, and to the souls ofmen, they shall have their share of the honours which ungodly pm­fessors are ready to heap upon them; the a)"(;h enemy is neverbackward in his agents for. tbe want of this, for caluml~Y and re­proach, attend all those who arefaithful to their post, but the mas­ter of the household bas given a blessing upon this subject, which

.llIore than counterbalances all that Satan or his agents can effect,and being strong in the strength which God supplies, they may biddefiance to all the machinations of men allcl devils.

May you, and each member of his mystical body be kept near tohimself, have light and discernment given to pursue the good oldway (for we do not liJ e new onc,) and be enabled to walk thereinwithout stumbling, to his honour and praise, and to go on simplydependent upon him, who is, ever was, and ever will be, the life,light, strength, and glory of his blood· bought family, throughout1111 ages. I remain, Mr. Editor, yours, in our precious Christ,

Balhmn, Lord's Day, WILLIAM SPENCER/lprtlI6, 1837.

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To tlu Editors oj the uospd Jlagaz;/Ie.M£ssns, EOl1'ORS, .

Three m'fulll' of your readers al e invited to jfJill,hrce pCI' 011 cif propcrty, to f'stl1blisIL a Gospel Book Societij,for. thehelllyit (1' the LOI'Il'3 poor! Allow me to sa.y, that Mr. Lovett's Ser­71I0/lS, qf whicl£ ,'I) III spoke so highly, wilt be printed and soldforEIGHTf'RNCR (/ olu'I1v, 'which now costs FOUR SHlI,LIJlTGS and

.SIXPENCR, '1'/10 c who al'e disposed tojoin us, are Tequested to send

.their '(lames aldl atldl'Css U!ulel' cover to the Publishers of the Gospel'Magazine. J, B.

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